Jesus' Baptism / First Sunday after Epiphany
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Read the Bible
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Revelation 12:3
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalParallel Translations
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.
And there appeared another wonder in heaue: for beholde, a great red dragon hauing seuen heads, and ten hornes, and seuen crownes vpon his heads:
Then another sign appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven crowns.
Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns.
And another sign was seen in the heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems;
Then another wonder appeared in heaven: There was a giant red dragon there. The dragon had seven heads with a crown on each head. It also had ten horns.
Then another sign [of warning] was seen in heaven: behold, a great fiery red dragon (Satan) with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns (diadems).
And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems.
Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.
Something else appeared in the sky. It was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and a crown on each of its seven heads.
Another sign was seen in heaven there was a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns.
Then another sign appeared in the sky: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on its heads.Revelation 13:1;">[xr]
And I saw another sign in heaven; and behold a great dragon of fire, which had seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems.
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and lo, a great fiery dragon, which had seven heads and ten horns, and upon his head seven diadems.
And there appeared another wonder in heauen, and behold a great red dragon, hauing seuen heads, and ten hornes, and seuen crownes vpon his heads.
And there appeared another wonder in heauen, for beholde, a great redde dragon, hauing seuen heades, and tenne hornes, and seuen crownes vpon his heades.
And there was seen another sign in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems.
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
And another sign appeared in heaven, and behold, a great fiery red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal headbands.
Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven crowns.
Then another wonder appeared in heaven: There was a giant red dragon with seven heads and seven crowns on each head. He also had ten horns.
Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns.
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads.
Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
And there was seen another sign in heaven. And behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and on his heads seven diadems.
And there appeared another sign in heaven; and behold, there was a great dragon of fire, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Another mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and a crown on each of his heads.
Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns.
And another sign was seen in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
And another marvel was seen in Heaven--a great fiery-red Dragon, with seven heads and ten horns; and on his heads were seven kingly crowns.
And another signe was seyn in heuene; and lo! a greet reede dragoun, that hadde seuene heedis, and ten hornes, and in the heedis of hym seuene diademes.
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads.
And ther appered another wonder in heven for beholde a gret red drago havynge .vii. heddes and ten hornes and crounes vpo his heddes:
And there was seen another sign in heaven: and look, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.
And there was seen another sign in the heaven, and, lo, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his head seven diadems,
And there was seen another sign in heaven; a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns.
And another sign was seen in the heavens. And, behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns! And on his heads were seven diadems,
And there appeared another token in heauen, and beholde a greate reed dragon, hauinge seuen heades, and ten hornes and seue crownes vpo his heades:
And there appeared another wonder in heaven, it was a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
And then another Sign alongside the first: a huge and fiery Dragon! It had seven heads and ten horns, a crown on each of the seven heads. With one flick of its tail it knocked a third of the Stars from the sky and dumped them on earth. The Dragon crouched before the Woman in childbirth, poised to eat up the Child when it came.
Something else special was seen in heaven. A large dragon was there. It was red and had seven heads and ten horns. There was a crown on each head.
Another amazing sight appeared in the sky. A monstrous red dragon took flight. It had seven heads and ten Watusi horns. Each head wore its own crown.
Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
wonder: or, sign, Revelation 12:1
a great: Revelation 12:4, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 12:17, Revelation 13:2, Revelation 13:4, Revelation 16:13, Revelation 17:3, Revelation 17:4, Revelation 20:2, Isaiah 27:1, Isaiah 51:9
seven heads: Revelation 13:1, Revelation 13:3, Revelation 17:9, Revelation 17:10
ten: Revelation 17:3, Revelation 17:7, Revelation 17:12, Revelation 17:16, Isaiah 9:15, Daniel 2:42, Daniel 7:7, Daniel 7:8, Daniel 7:20, Daniel 7:24
seven crowns: Revelation 13:1
Reciprocal: Ezekiel 23:42 - bracelets Ezekiel 29:3 - the great Daniel 2:41 - the feet Daniel 7:21 - General Nahum 2:3 - made Zechariah 6:2 - red Revelation 6:4 - horse Revelation 12:7 - the dragon Revelation 13:11 - and he spake Revelation 19:12 - on his
Cross-References
when, Abraham, shall surely become, a great and mighty nation, - and all the nations of the earth, shall be blessed in him?
Let peoples serve thee And races bow down to thee, Become thou lord to thy brethren, And let the sons of thy mother bow down to thee, - He that curseth thee, be accursed! And he that blesseth thee, be blessed!
And thy seed shall become as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt break forth westward and eastward, and northward and southward, - And all the families of the ground shall be blessed in thee and in thy seed.
And Laban said unto him, If, I pray thee, I have found favour in thine eyes, …I have divined that Yahweh hath blessed me for thy sake.
For it was, little I that thou hadst - before I came and then it brake forth into multitude, and Yahweh blessed thee at my every step. Now, therefore, when am, I, also to do something for my own house?
And it came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, that Yahweh blessed the house of the Egyptian, for Joseph's sake, - yea it came to pass, that the blessing of Yahweh, was with all that he had, in the house and in the field;
But if thou wilt indeed hearken, to his voice, and so wilt do all that I may speak, then will I be an enemy to thine enemies, and an adversary to thine adversaries;
He hath knelt - hath lain down, Like a strong lion, yea like a lioness, Who shall rouse him up? Such as bless thee are each one blessed, But, such, as curse thee, are each one cursed.
May his Name he age-abiding, In the presence of the sun, let his Name flourish, - And may all the families of the ground bless themselves in him, All nations, pronounce him happy!
And, answering, the king will say unto them: Verily, I say unto you - Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my least brethren, unto me, ye did it.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And there appeared another wonder in heaven,.... Or "sign"; which represents the woman, or the church's adversary, Satan; not that he was in heaven, in the third heaven, the place of glory and happiness, for out of that he had been cast long ago; but in his great power and authority here on, earth, particularly in the Roman empire, where the church was labouring to bring forth her man child:
and behold a great red dragon; the devil, as it is explained in
Revelation 12:9; though not he in person, but the Heathen Roman empire, or the Heathen Roman emperors, acted, influenced, directed, and presided over by him; so Pharaoh king of Egypt, and other cruel and persecuting monarchs and states, are called dragons in Scripture,
Isaiah 27:1; all which places the Targum interprets of
מלכא, "a king", and particularly of Pharaoh king of Egypt; who is like to a great and mighty dragon: and the Roman Pagan empire, as under the influence of Satan, the god of this world, is fitly compared to a "dragon", for its policy and cunning in circumventing and ensnaring the professors of Christianity; and for its cruelty and inhumanity in persecuting of them; and for its poison of idolatry, will worship, and superstition: and it may be called a "great" one, for its strength and power, which lay in its immense treasure and riches, in numbers of men, in powerful armies, in strong cities, castles, c. and for its large extent and jurisdiction and a "red" one, because of the blood of the saints shed in it, by which it became of this colour; suitable to the character and bloody practices of the old serpent the devil, by whom it was influenced, who was a murderer from the beginning; and agreeably to one of the names by which the Jews x frequently call the Roman empire Edom, the name Esau had from the red pottage he sold his birthright for, and who himself was born red, Genesis 25:29; it seems there were red dragons; Homer y says of the dragon, that it is red upon its back:
having seven heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads; the "seven heads" of the Roman empire either design the seven mountains, or hills, on which Rome, the metropolis of the empire, was built, as the seven heads of the beast on which the woman drunk with the blood of the saints sat, are explained in Revelation 17:9; or rather the seven forms of government which successively should obtain in the empire, as kings, consuls, decemvirs, dictators, tribunes, emperors, and popes; hence these heads are said to have "seven crowns" upon them, as expressive of the imperial power and dignity which were in them, and exercised by them: Mr. Daubuz thinks seven capital cities in the Roman empire are meant, as Rome, Carthage, Aege, Antiochia, Augustodunum, Alexandria, and Constantinople; and nothing is more common than to call chief cities the heads of the countries they belong unto, as Damascus the head of Syria, and Samaria the head of Ephraim, Isaiah 7:8. Pliny z calls Babylon the head of Chaldea; and Cornelius Nepos says a of Thebes, that it was the head of all Greece; and Syracuse is by Florus b called the head of Sicily, as Rome is in Livy c, and other writers, the head of the world: and by the "ten horns" are meant either the ten kingdoms which should hereafter arise out of the Roman empire, and whose kings should give their kingdoms to the beast; or the ten Roman emperors, the persecutors of the Christians; or rather the ten provinces, or jurisdictions, which the empire was divided into while Pagan: Brightman out of Strabo has shown, that in the times of Augustus Caesar the Roman empire was distributed into two parts, the one was more immediately under the care of the emperor, and the other was governed by deputies; and each were divided into ten provinces; that which the emperor held consisted of Africa, France, Britain, Germany, Dacia with Mysia and Thracia, Cappadocia, Armenia, Syria, Palestine with Judea and Egypt, in all ten; and that part which was governed by deputies were the outermost Spain, and the isles by it, the innermost Spain, c. Sardinia with Corsica, Sicily, Illyricum with Epirus, Macedonia, Achaia, Crete with Cyreniaca, Cyprus, Bithynia with Propontis so that the Roman Pagan empire, as under the dominion of Satan, is manifestly designed by the dragon thus described. The Jews d speak of ten horns which the Israelites had, which when they sinned were taken from them, as it is written, Lamentations 2:3, and were given to the nations of the world, according to Daniel 7:20; "and of the ten horns that were in his head", &c.
x Vid. Buxtorf. Lex. Rab. in voce אדם. y Iliad. 2. l. 308. z Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 26. a In Vita Epaminond. l. 15. c. 10. b Hist. Roman. l. 2. c. 6. c Hist. l. 21. c. 30. d Echa Rabbati, fol. 53. 2, 3.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And there appeared another wonder in heaven - Represented as in heaven. See the notes on Revelation 12:1. That is, he saw this as occurring at the time when the church was thus about to increase.
And behold a great red dragon - The word rendered “dragon” - δράκων drakōn - occurs, in the New Testament, only in the book of Revelation, where it is uniformly rendered as here - “dragon:” Revelation 12:3-4, Revelation 12:7,Revelation 12:9, Revelation 12:13, Revelation 12:16-17; Revelation 13:2, Revelation 13:4,Revelation 13:11; Revelation 16:13; Revelation 20:2. In all these places there is reference to the same thing. The word properly means “a large serpent”; and the allusion in the word commonly is to some serpent, perhaps such as the anaconda, that resides in a desert or wilderness. See a full account of the ideas that prevailed in ancient times respecting the dragon, in Bochart, Hieroz. lib. iii. cap. xiv., vol. ii. pp. 428-440. There was much that was fabulous respecting this monster, and many notions were attached to the dragon which did not exist in reality, and which were ascribed to it by the imagination at a time when natural history was little understood. The characteristics ascribed to the dragon, according to Bochart, are, that it was distinguished:
(a)For its vast size;
(b)That it had something like a beard or dew-lap;
(c)That it had three rows of teeth;
(d)That its color was black, red, yellow, or ashy;
(e)That it had a wide mouth;
(f)That in its breathing it not only drew in the air, but also birds that were flying over it; and,
(g)That its hiss was terrible.
Occasionally, also, feet and wings were attributed to the dragon, and sometimes a lofty crest. The dragon, according to Bochart, was supposed to inhabit waste places and solitudes (compare the notes on Isaiah 13:22), and it became, therefore, an object of great terror. It is probable that the original of this was a huge serpent, and that all the other circumstances were added by the imagination. The prevailing ideas in regard to it, however, should be borne in mind, in order to see the force and propriety of the use of the word by John. Two special characteristics are stated by John in the general description of the dragon: one is, its red color; the other, that it was great. In regard to the former, as above mentioned, the dragon was supposed to be black, red, yellow, or ashy. See the authorities referred to in Bochart, ut sup., pp. 435, 436. There was doubtless a reason why the one seen by John should be represented as red. As to the other characteristic - great - the idea is that it was a huge monster, and this would properly refer to some mighty, terrible power which would be properly symbolized by such a monster.
Having seven heads - It was not unusual to attribute many heads to monsters, especially to fabulous monsters, and these greatly increased the terror of the animal. “Thus Cerberus usually has three heads assigned to him; but Hesiod (Theog. 312) assigns him fifty, and Horace (Ode II. 13, 34) one hundred. So the Hydra of the Lake Lerna, killed by Hercules, had fifty heads (Virgil, Aen. vi. 576); and in Kiddushim, fol. 29, 2, rabbi Achse is said to have seen a demon like a dragon with seven heads” (Prof. Stuart, in loco). The seven heads would somehow denote power, or seats of power. Such a number of heads increase the terribleness, and, as it were, the vitality of the monster. What is here represented would be as terrible and formidable as such a monster; or such a monster would appropriately represent what was designed to be symbolized here. The number seven may be used here “as a perfect number,” or merely to heighten the terror of the image; but it is more natural to suppose that there would be something in what is here represented which would lay the foundation for the use of this number. There would be something either in the origin of the power; or in the union of various powers now combined in the one represented by the dragon; or in the seat of the power, which this would properly symbolize. Compare the notes on Daniel 7:6.
And ten horns - Emblems of power, denoting that, in some respects, there were ten powers combined in this one. See the notes on Daniel 7:7-8, Daniel 7:20, Daniel 7:24. There can be little doubt that John had those passages of Daniel in his eye, and perhaps as little that the reference is to the same thing. The meaning is, that, in some respects, there would be a tenfold origin or division of the power represented by the dragon.
And seven crowns upon his heads - Greek, “diadems.” See the notes on Revelation 9:7. There is a reference here to some kingly power, and doubtless John had some kingdom or sovereignty in his eye that would be properly symbolized in this manner. The method in which these heads and horns were arranged on the dragon is not stated, and is not material. All that is necessary in the explanation is, that there was something in the power referred to that would be properly represented by the seven heads, and something by the ten horns.
In the application of this, it will be necessary to inquire what was properly symbolized by these representations, and to refer again to these particulars with this view:
(a) “The dragon.” This is explained in Revelation 12:9 of this chapter: “And the great dragon was cast out that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” So again, Revelation 20:2, “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil.” Compare Bochart, Hieroz. ii. pp. 439, 440. There can be no doubt, therefore, that the reference here is to Satan, considered as the enemy of God, and the enemy of the peace of man, and especially as giving origin and form to some mighty power that would threaten the existence of the church.
(b) “Great.” This will well describe the power of Satan as originating the organizations that were engaged for so long a time in persecuting the church, and endeavoring to destroy it. It was a work of vast power, controlling kings and nations for ages, and could have been accomplished only by one to whom the appellation used here could be given.
(c) “Red.” This, too, is an appellation properly applied here to the dragon, or Satan, considered as the enemy of the church, and as originating this persecuting power, either:
(1)Because it well represents the bloody persecutions that would ensue, or.
(2)Because this would be the favorite color by which this power would be manifest. Compare Revelation 17:3-4; Revelation 18:12, Revelation 18:16.
(d) “The seven heads.” There was, doubtless, as above remarked, something significant in these heads, as referring to the power designed to be represented. On the supposition that this refers to Rome, or to the power of Satan as manifested by Roman persecution, there can be no difficulty in the application; and, indeed, it is such an image as the writer would naturally use on the supposition that it had such a designed reference. Rome was built, as is well known, on seven hills (compare the notes on Revelation 10:3), and was called the seven-hilled city (Septicollis), from having been originally built on seven hills, though subsequently three hills were added, making the whole number ten. See Eschenburg, Manual of Classical Literature, p. 1, section 53. Thus, Ovid:
“Sed quae de septem totum circumspicit orbem.
Montibus, imperii Romae Deumque locus.”
Horace:
“Dis quibus septem placuere colles.”
Propertius:
“Septem urbs alta jugis, toti quae praesidet orbi.”
Tertullian: “I appeal to the citizens of Rome, the populace that dwell on the seven hills” (Apol. 35). And again, Jerome to Marcella, when urging her to quit Rome for Bethlehem: “Read what is said in the Apocalypse of the seven hills,” etc. The situation of the city, if that was destined to he represented by the dragon, would naturally suggest the idea of the seven-headed monster. Compare the notes on Revelation 13:0. The explanation which is here given of the meaning of the “seven heads” is, in fact, one that is given in the Book of Revelation itself, and there can be no danger of error in this part of the interpretation. See Revelation 17:9; “The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth,” Compare Rev 12:18.
(e) “The ten horns.” These were emblems of power, denoting that in reference to that power there were, in some respects, ten sources. The same thing is referred to here which is in Daniel 7:7-8, Daniel 7:20, Daniel 7:24. See the notes on Daniel 7:24, where this subject is fully considered. The creature that John saw was indeed a monster, and we are not to expect entire congruity in the details. It is sufficient that the main idea is preserved, and that would be, if the reference was to Rome considered as the place where the energy of Satan, as opposed to God and the church, was centered.
(f) “The seven crowns.” This would merely denote that kingly or royal authority was claimed.
The “general” interpretation which refers this vision to Rome may receive confirmation from the fact that the dragon was at one time the Roman standard, as is represented by the annexed engraving from Montfaucon. Ammianus Marcellinus (John 16:10) thus describes this standard: “The dragon was covered with purple cloth, and fastened to the end of a pike gilt and adorned with precious stones. It opened its wide throat, and the wind blew through it; and it hissed as if in a rage, with its tail floating in several folds through the air.” He elsewhere often gives it the epithet of “purpureus” - purple-red: “purpureum signum draconis, etc.” With this the description of Claudian well agrees also:
“Hi volucres tollent aquilas; hi picta draconum.
Colla levant: multumque tumet per nubila serpens,
Iratus stimulante noto, vivitque receptis.
Flatibus, et vario mentitur sibila flatu.”
The dragon was first used as an ensign near the close of the second century of the Christian era, and it was not until the third century that its use had become common; and the reference here, according to this fact, would be to that period of the Roman power when this had become a common standard, and when the applicability of this image would be readily understood. It is simply Rome that is referred to - Rome, the great agent of accomplishing the purposes of Satan toward the church. The eagle was the common Roman ensign in the time of the republic, and in the earlier periods of the empire; but in later periods the dragon became also a standard as common and as well known as the eagle. “In the third century it had become almost as notorious among Roman ensigns as the eagle itself; and is in the fourth century noted by Prudentius, Vegetius, Chrysostom, Ammianus, etc.; in the fifth, by Claudian and others” (Elliott).
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
NOTES ON CHAP. XII., BY J. E. C.
Verse Revelation 12:3. There appeared another wonder-a great red dragon — The dragon here is a symbol, not of the Roman empire in general, but of the HEATHEN Roman empire. This great pagan power must have, therefore, been thus represented from the religion which it supported. But what is a dragon? An entirely fabulous beast of antiquity, consequently, in this respect, a most proper emblem of the heathen worship, which consisted in paying adoration to numerous imaginary beings, termed gods, goddesses, c. The very foundation of the heathen religious system is mostly built upon fable and it is very difficult to trace many of their superstitions to any authentic original; and even those which appear to derive their origin from the sacred writings are so disguised in fable as literally to bear no more resemblance to the truth than the dragon of the ancients does to any animal with which we are acquainted. But it may be asked why the Spirit of God should represent the heathen Roman empire as a dragon, rather than by anger other of the fabulous animals with which the mythology of the ancient Romans abounded. The answer is as follows; In the eighth chapter of the Prophet Daniel, God has represented the kingdom of the Greeks by a he-goat, for no other apparent reason than this, that it was the national military standard of the Grecian monarchy; we may therefore expect that the pagan Roman empire is called a DRAGON on a similar account. In confirmation of this point it is very remarkable that the dragon was the principal standard of the Romans next to the eagle, in the second, third, fourth, and fifth centuries of the Christian era. Of this we have abundant evidence in the writings of both heathens and Christians. Arrian is the earliest writer who has mentioned that dragons were used as military standards among the Romans. See his Tactics, c. 51. Hence Schwebelius supposes that this standard was introduced after Trajan's conquest of the Daci. See Vegetius de Re Militari a Schwebelio, p. 191, Argentorati, 1806; and Graevii Thesaur., Antiq. Roman., tom. x., col. 1529. Vegetius, who flourished about A.D. 386, says, lib. ii. c. 13: Primum signum totius legionis est aquila, quam aquilifer portal. DRACONES etiam per singulas cohortes a draconariis feruntur ad praelium. "The first standard of the whole legion is the eagle, which the aquilifer carries. DRAGONS are also borne to battle by the Draconarii." As a legion consisted of ten cohorts, there were therefore ten draconarii to one aquilifer; hence, from the great number of draconarii in an army, the word signarii or signiferi, standard-bearers, came at last to mean the carriers of the dragon standards only, the others retaining the name of aquiliferi.-See Veget., lib. ii. c. 7, and his commentators. The heathen Roman empire is called a RED dragon; and accordingly we find from the testimony of ancient writers that the dragon standards of the Romans were painted red. We read in Ammianus Marcellinus, lib. xvi., c. 12, of PURPUREUM signum draconis, "the purple standard of the dragon." See also Claudianus in Rufinum, lib. ii., l. 177, 178. Pitiscus, in his Lexicon Antiq. Rom., and Ducange, in his Glossarium Mediae et Infimae Latinitatis, sub voc. Draco, have considered this subject at great length, especially the latter writer, who has made several quotations from Claudianus, Sidonius, Prudentius, and others, in which not only the standard, but also the image of the dragon itself, is stated to be of a red or purple colour. Of what has been said above respecting the dragon, this is then the sum: a huge fabulous beast is shown to St. John, by which some GREAT PAGAN power is symbolically represented; and the RED dragon is selected from among the numerous imaginary animals which the fancies of mankind have created to show that this great pagan power is the heathen ROMAN empire.
Having seven heads — As the dragon is an emblem of the heathen Roman power, its heads must denote heathen forms of government.-Revelation 17:10; Revelation 17:10, where the heads of the beast are explained in a similar way. These were exactly seven, and are enumerated by Tacitus (Annal., lib. i., in principio) in words to the following effect: "The city of Rome was originally governed by kings. L. Brutus instituted liberty and the consulate. The dictatorship was only occasionally appointed; neither did the decemviral power last above two years; and the consular power of the military tribunes was not of long continuance. Neither had Cinna nor Sylla a long domination: the power of Pompey and Crassus was also soon absorbed in that of Caesar; and the arms of Lepidus and Antony finally yielded to those of Augustus." From this passage it is evident to every person well acquainted with the Roman history, that the seven forms of government in the heathen Roman world were, 1. The regal power; 2. The consulate; 3. The dictatorship; 4. The decemvirate; 5. The consular power of the military tribunes; 6. The triumvirate; and, 7. The imperial government.
It is singular that commentators in general, in their citation of this passage, have taken no notice of the triumvirate, a form of government evidently as distinct from any of the others as kings are from consuls, or consuls from emperors. For the triumvirate consisted in the division of the Roman republic into three parts, each governed by an officer possessed with consular authority in his own province; and all three united together in the regulation of the whole Roman state. Consequently, it differed entirely from the imperial power, which was the entire conversion of the Roman state from a republic to a monarchy.
And ten horns — That these ten horns signify as many kingdoms is evident from the seventh chapter of Daniel, where the angel, speaking of the fourth beast, says, that "the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise;" and in this view of the passage many commentators are agreed, who also admit that the ten kingdoms are to be met with "amid the broken pieces of the Roman empire." And it is evident that nothing less than the dismemberment of the Roman empire, and its division into ten independent kingdoms, can be intended by the angel's interpretation just quoted. If, therefore, the ten horns of Daniel's fourth beast point out as many kingdoms, for the very same reason must the horns of the dragon have a similar meaning. But the Roman empire was not divided into several independent kingdoms till a considerable time after it became Christian. In what sense then can it be said that the different kingdoms into which the Roman empire was divided by the barbarous nations are horns of the dragon? They were so because it was the Roman monarchy, in its seventh DRACONIC form of government, which was dismembered by the barbarians. For though the Roman empire was not completely dismembered till the fifth century, it is well known that the depression of the heathen idolatry, and the advancement of Christianity to the throne, elected not the least change in the form of government: the Romans continued still to be under subjection to the imperial power; and, consequently, when the heathen barbarous nations divided the Roman empire among themselves, they might very properly be denominated horns of the dragon, as it was by means of their incursions that the imperial power, FOUNDED by the heathen Caesars, was abolished. Machiavel and Bishop Lloyd enumerate the horns of the dragon thus: 1. The kingdom of the Huns; 9. The kingdom of the Ostrogoths; 3 The kingdom of the Visigoths; 4. The kingdom of the Franks; 5. The kingdom of the Vandals; 6. The kingdom of the Sueves and Alans; 7. The kingdom of the Burgundians; 8. The kingdom of the Heruli, Rugii, Scyrri, and other tribes which composed the Italian kingdom of Odoacer; 9. The kingdom of the Saxons; and 10. The kingdom of the Lombards.
And seven crowns upon his head. — In the seven Roman forms of government already enumerated, heathenism has been the crowning or dominant religion.
