Chapter Seventeen
God’s Judgment of Rome:
Judgment of the Whore
17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and
talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment
of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
After the seven vials of God’s wrath had been poured out, one of the angels
bearing the vials came and spoke to John. His purpose
was to show John more details about the papacy which he refers to here as “the
great whore that sitteth upon many waters.”
The reason the woman is spoken of as a whore is that the papacy has been
guilty of false worship and idolatry which is quite often referred to as
fornication or adultery in the Bible. The
Children of Israel did the same thing. “Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of
my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images
of men, and didst commit whoredom with them” (Ezekiel 16:17). The Catholics also practiced idolatry and
other abominations which prompted God to call them “the great whore.” The “many waters” which the woman is
seen sitting upon will be explained in verse fifteen to be a multitude of
people. To sit on something means that
it acts as a base or foundation. The
papacy could not exist without the support, financially and otherwise, from a
great number of people around the world.
So all who have the mark of the beast and support the papacy are those
upon which this whore sits.
17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the
inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
For many centuries the papacy managed to get world leaders to submit to her. These world leaders committed spiritual
fornication with Rome. This term is
often used in reference to idolatry and false worship which is exactly what was
occurring in this instance. The papacy
had seduced these leaders into participating in her ungodly deeds. This is why the papacy was referred to as a “great
whore” in verse one. She was willing
to sell herself to the nations of the world for wealth, prestige, and power.
“The inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her
fornication.” Not only were the
leaders seduced, but the general populace as well. They were duped into believing and following
the false doctrines of the Catholics. Their
condition is likened here to drunkenness.
Rome had in essence, gotten them drunk and taken advantage of them, as an
unscrupulous man will often try to do with a woman. But the people were ultimately at fault, just
as a woman will only find herself in that position if she gets drunk in the
first place. It was her decision to
drink, therefore what happened to her was ultimately her responsibility. Likewise, these people could have resisted
the false doctrines that were given them to “drink” but they chose not to do so. They are the ones who chose to drink, no one
forced it on them. And because of the
weakness of the people and their leaders the papacy was able to dominate the
entire Western world for over a millennium.
17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a
woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having
seven heads and ten horns.
The angel now carries John away into the
wilderness where you expect to find wild beasts. Here he shows John a very horrific beast that
has seven heads and ten horns. We were
first introduced to this beast in chapter twelve, but will be given a clearer
picture of him here in chapter seventeen.
Seated upon this beast was a woman.
We can tell immediately that this woman is not the one mentioned in
chapter twelve. That woman was
righteous, while this one is sitting upon an evil beast which is “full of
names of blasphemy.” This is the
same beast we saw in chapter thirteen and it was stated there that he was full
of the names of blasphemy. This shows
that the seven powers which the heads represent behaved in a disrespectful and
blasphemous manner towards God. They persecuted
His people and corrupted His worship. They
acted as though He did not even exist. They
showed absolutely no regard or respect for God.
The beast is said to be scarlet colored which may well be a reference to
the blood of the righteous he has shed countless times throughout history.
17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with
gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of
abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Our attention is now turned to the woman riding upon the hideous beast. The woman is described as being beautifully
and richly attired. She was wearing
garments of purple and scarlet. “Purple
raiment was costly, and consequently its use was the privilege of the rich
exclusively. It was worn by persons of
wealth and high official position, and especially by kings. Indeed, it was a sign of royalty, and was put
on Jesus in mockery of
his claims.” “The color
(scarlet) and the method of obtaining it were early known. It was much used in the hangings of the
tabernacle and in the high priest’s vestments. It
was employed in the ceremony attending the purification of the leper, and in
the preparation of the water of separation.” From the first
color we receive the impression of power and authority. From the second we get the idea of religious
meaning and significance. Together we
have a picture of the papacy with her great spiritual authority.
The woman was further adorned with “gold and precious stones and pearls.” This is a further indication of her wealth. At the height of its power the papacy was
unbelievably wealthy. Of course much of
this wealth was obtained at the expense of her own people. The woman also had a golden cup in her hand. It was normal for royalty to drink from
vessels of silver and gold so this also adds to her aura of power and wealth. But in this cup was the “abominations and
filthiness of her fornication.” Everything
we had seen to this point has pointed to a wonderful and wealthy woman, but
here we see her true character. She was
similar in character to the scribes and Pharisees of Christ’s day. “Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and
of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which
is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also” (Matthew
23:25-6). This woman
appeared very beautiful and alluring from the outside, but inside she was
rotten to the core.
17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF
THE EARTH.
This beautifully attired woman had a name written on her forehead, a name that
described her as she really was and betrayed her marvelous appearance. Back in chapter ten, as preparation was being
made for the pouring out of the seven vials of God’s wrath, which was to
destroy the papacy, the statement was made “the mystery of God should be
finished.” The term mystery is
applied to the apostate Roman Church. And indeed
her origins and practices are mysterious, having no basis in scripture
whatsoever. At one time in history Babylon was a great and powerful city, and during the sixth
century B.C. became the most powerful nation in the world after subduing Assyria. But it was a city noted for
idolatry and excess, and like Sodom and Gomorrah has become
synonymous with great wickedness. At the
time Revelation was written Babylon
was the most infamous city of the past.
Everyone knew of that city’s reputation for sin and wickedness. Spiritual Rome has many similar characteristics thus leading to the
comparison between the two.
“THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Today there are literally hundreds of groups
practicing spiritual harlotry. Groups that
have splintered off from the Catholic Church because of ideological
differences, but they too practice false doctrines of one type or another. These are the so-called “denominations.” The word denomination implies division, but
the Lord’s Church is not divided. These
churches are also guilty of spiritual fornication like Rome and are in essence the daughters of Rome, which is where apostasy really first took hold and
flourished. So Rome is the mother of numerous spiritual harlots.
This woman’s name was written on her forehead where everyone should have been
able to see it. This denotes the fact
that Rome’s sins and apostasy were visible to the whole world. The problem, however, is that the world did
not want to see the truth of the matter.
They accepted the papacy and never questioned her authenticity. Just as men are often blinded and taken in by
the physical beauty of a woman, despite the fact that she might have a very
objectionable character. Eventually
their blindness will be their downfall.
The entire world was exactly as Jesus described the Jews during His day “For
this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and
their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be
converted, and I should heal them” (Matthew 13:15). Even today, most people fail to see the
apostasy of Rome and her many spiritually immoral daughters, the
denominations. They remain blind to the
truth and continue in their sins.
17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the
blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great
admiration.
We have already seen that this woman is of very bad character. Here we see just how bad she is. She is said to be “drunken with the blood
of the saints.” Of course blood
would not actually make a person drunk, but we are not talking about a literal
woman anyway. The thought is that this
woman has slaughtered so many of Christ’s servants that she did not just have a taste of
their blood, but was a glutton. She
drank of the blood of the saints until she could not drink any more.
After having given us a description of this hideous woman, John now tells us
how he reacted. He “wondered with
great admiration.” This does not
mean that he admired the woman in the way we would use the word today. He wondered and marveled at this woman who
was so richly attired, and yet was of such an evil character. In short, John was amazed at what he saw, and
did not fully understand the identity or meaning of this woman.
17:7 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.
The angel that is talking with John now asks him
why he marveled or wondered after this woman and the grotesque beast upon which
she was riding. The angel then offers to
tell John about these two evil creatures, which he proceeds to do in the next
verse.
17:8 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.
The seven headed beast is spoken of here as something that “was, and is not.” This indicates that it has died. This is further supported by the statement “and
shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition.” The bottomless pit is where we saw the Arabs
arise from in chapter nine. It is the
dwelling place of Satan and of all things which are evil. Certainly, then, it is the place where this
woman and the seven-headed beast came from.
The beast originally came from the pit but then was destroyed. This is the meaning of the word perdition. It comes from the Greek word “apoleia,”
which Strong’s defines as “ruin or loss (physical, spiritual or
eternal):-damnable (-nation), destruction, die, perdition, X perish, pernicious
ways, waste.” Thus we see
that this beast was killed, which refers to the overthrow of Rome in 476 by Odoacer.
The beast is now dead, but something very unexpected happened. The beast was resurrected. This is what is meant by the last phrase of
the verse, “the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.” This has reference to the revival of Rome, which at one point seemed dead, but then suddenly
came back to life in the form of the papacy.
Because of this seemingly miraculous occurrence “they that dwell on
the earth shall wonder.” People will
be in awe of the remarkable recuperative powers of this beast. This is the same thing we saw in chapter thirteen. “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” (Revelation 13:3). But here we are told who exactly it was that
wondered after the beast. It was those “whose
names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.” In other words, most people did wonder after
the beast, but Christians did not. Those
who have their names written in the book of life are Christians. This verse tells us that their names have
been written there “from the foundation of the world.” This does not teach predestination as some
might think. God has not chosen any
particular person, but rather a type of people.
Those who are holy and righteous will be accepted of God. This was decided before the world was ever
created. “According as he hath chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4).
The reason Christians will not wonder after the beast is because they should
understand what is going on. They had
these very same prophesies which we are presently studying to help them
understand the events as they occurred. Therefore
there was no reason for them to wonder after the beast.
17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom.
The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
The phrase “and here is the mind which hath wisdom,” is similar to the
phrase in chapter thirteen “Here is wisdom.” The idea is that a very important statement
is about to be made, and careful attention should be paid to it. The important message is that “the seven
heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” The question is whether this is meant literally
or figuratively. The Lord has already
put us on alert that something unusual is going on in this verse with the
statement “here is the mind which hath wisdom.”
In prophesy mountains represent powerful nations and governments. The seven heads of the beast are seven world
empires which Satan has used as his instruments in an attempt to destroy God’s
people. The woman will be shown in verse
eighteen to be Rome. She is in
essence a close-up view of the seventh head, the head presently in power. She rides upon the beast because she is the
representative of the head currently in power, and she is the greatest
accomplishment of Satan. The papacy
enjoyed more power, and for a longer time, than any other empire of any time in
history. But despite her unholy power
and glory, she failed in her primary mission, the eradication of the Lord’s
Church.
But here the seven heads also have another meaning. It is pointing to the fact that this seventh
head sits on seven literal mountains. We
already know that it is Rome that
we are dealing with here. And indeed Rome fits with this description having long been known as
the “City of Seven Hills.” “These hills
include the famous seven hills on which ancient Rome was built-the Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Viminal hills.” Since there is a double meaning here the Lord alerted
us to it beforehand so that we would not miss it, by saying, “here is the
mind which hath wisdom.”
17:10 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.
The reference to seven kings here is not referring to seven individuals, but to
seven thrones, which were each occupied by numerous men. These kings stand for the seven kingdoms
shown as mountains in the previous verse.
The Bible has often used the term king when actually referring to a
kingdom. A good example is found in
Daniel chapter two. There Daniel is
interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about a great image. The image is divided up into four parts which
represent the four kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. In describing
the image to Nebuchadnezzar Daniel says this.
“Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given
thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler
over them all. Thou art this head of
gold. And after thee shall arise another
kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear
rule over all the earth” (Daniel 2:37-39).
He refers to king Nebuchadnezzar as the
head of the image. The other three parts
are all referred to as kingdoms. Here he
is addressing Nebuchadnezzar but says “after thee shall arise another
kingdom.” Since Nebuchadnezzar was
not the last king of the Babylonian Empire, Daniel has to be referring to the Empire
and not Nebuchadnezzar personally. This
is what the Bible so often does, and is doing here in Revelation.
The seven kingdoms which are under consideration here are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the papacy.
“Five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come.” At the time of John’s writing Egypt, Assyria, Babylon,
Mede-Persia, and Greece had already fallen. Rome was then in power and the papacy was yet to come. The last of the seven, the papacy, is
supposed to “continue a short space” when it comes. The term “short space” is from the
Greek word “oligos.” Strong’s definition includes “a season,
short, small, a while.” This
definition shows that the word can be interpreted as a season or a while. This eliminates any possible difficulties
over calling the duration of the papacy a “short” space. The context of the verse indicates to us that
we are not looking at the length of the time period, but simply the fact that
this seventh kingdom is to have a period during which it is to enjoy great
power.
17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the
eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Again we see the idea of a resurrected kingdom.
A kingdom “that was, and is not, even he is the eighth.” How can their be an eighth when there are
only seven heads? Notice that it says
the eighth “is of the seven.” This
refers us back to chapter thirteen where we saw the seven-headed beast and
another beast that “had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” We identified this second beast as the Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire is the eighth, but as can easily be seen it is of the
seven. It is the carnal resurrection of
the old Roman Empire. We also find
that a similar fate awaits this eighth head as was promised the seven-headed
beast. It too will be destroyed by God’s
vengeance. It ended, interestingly
enough, at the same time the papacy was receiving its death blows.
“The later emperors, all rulers of Austria and concerned mainly with aggrandizement of their
personal dominions, were mere figureheads.
Futile armed intervention against the French Revolution constituted the
last important venture of the empire in European politics. Because of well-founded fears that Napoleon
I, Emperor of France, intended to annex the imperial title, Francis II, the
last of the emperors, formally dissolved the empire on Aug. 6, 1806, and established the Empire of
Austria.”
17:12 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.
We are now told the meaning of the ten horns of the beast. The horns represent ten kings. As we saw in verse ten the term king is used
to refer to a kingdom and not to individual rulers. So the horns are actually ten kingdoms. We see here that these kingdoms have not come
into being as yet, but will receive power and work with the beast at some time
in the future. They will have “power
as kings one hour with the beast.” Here
hour comes from the Greek word “hora,”
which Strong’s defines as “an ‘hour’ (literally or figuratively):-day, hour,
instant, season, X short, [even-] tide, (high) time.” This
definition indicates that the meaning of this word does not have to be specific. One meaning that is given is “season.” This implies an indefinite period of time. So we are not looking for a definite period
of time for these kingdoms to have power with the beast. Also, since the 1,260 year period is not
mentioned here we can assume that these ten kingdoms will not exist throughout
this entire period. If they were to
exist throughout that whole era we would almost certainly be told of this.
Back in chapter thirteen we introduced some related prophesies of Daniel. One part of that prophesy in particular is
very relevant to our discussion here. “And
the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another
shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue
three kings” (Daniel 7:24).
The fourth of the beasts which Daniel
saw was a representation of Rome. It had ten horns just as the seventh head of
the seven-headed beast does. The
question now is this, are these ten horns the same in both cases? In principle they are, but in practice they
aren’t. In both cases the ten horns are
ten kingdoms which support the papacy. But
in Daniel we are looking at the beginning of the papacy, here in Revelation we
are looking at the end of the papacy.
Notice how in Daniel’s prophesy the little horn is seen rising AFTER the first
ten. This shows us that these ten
kingdoms were in existence in A.D. 533 when the papacy officially began. Later in this chapter we will see that the
ten horns we are currently dealing with are present at the end of the papacy’s
power. The problem is that not one
single kingdom extant at the origin of the papacy survived until her demise. So obviously we must be looking at two
different groups of ten. They serve the
same purpose, they support the papacy, but the names will be different for the
two sets.
The task of identifying the ten kingdoms spoken of here is not a particularly
easy task. The map of Europe has undergone
tremendous changes over the last 1,500 years.
Kingdoms have appeared and then disappeared, some to reappear later,
others gone forever. Our task is to find
ten kingdoms that existed and supported the papacy throughout some part of the
1,260 years of her power, and then remained to turn against the papacy in the
end. The best way I know to approach
this is to make a list of all the possible candidates and then look into each
one and see if it fits what we are looking for.
There are six criteria which a kingdom must satisfy to be what we are
looking for. The criteria are as
follows:
1. It must be
an independent or sovereign kingdom. In
other words it is not simply a province or colony of some greater power.
2. It must possess at least a moderate
measure of power. Verse thirteen tells
us that these nations “shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” A kingdom which was extremely weak would have
no power to give to the papacy.
3. It must be a Catholic nation, that
is, a nation which has Catholicism as its national religion and supports the
papacy.
4. The first three criteria must have
all been met simultaneously during some part of the 1,260 year period of the
papacy’s power.
5. All ten nations must have existed at
the same time.
6. All of the nations must have remained
in existence up to the time of the Reformation.
Verse sixteen tells us that “these shall hate the whore, and shall
make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.” So these ten nations will eventually begin to
turn away from the papacy, and this did not happen until the Reformation.
One
method of searching for kingdoms which meet these criteria is to examine the
histories of present-day European nations.
We will restrict our search to Europe because after
the eighth century Catholic power no longer
existed in Asia or Africa for any extended periods of time due to the advance
of the Arabs. But how will looking at
present-day Europe give us the information we desire about nations which
existed hundreds of years ago? The
histories given in any encyclopedia will provide for us, among other things,
the past history of the area of land which is presently occupied by that
particular country. So this way we will
find information about the past of every inch of the European continent. Even if a nation is of recent origin we will
know who controlled the land in the past centuries. This way we can discover what nations existed
in Europe in the past. As
of 1991 there were thirty-three sovereign nations in Europe. They are Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Vatican City, and Yugoslavia.
Many of the nations on our list only came into existence in the last 200 years,
which is too late for our purposes. Others
were not Catholic nations, but
belonged to the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christendom and thus do not
fit our criteria. The following
countries can therefore be removed from consideration because of one or both of
these reasons: Albania, Andorra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Switzerland, Turkey, Vatican City, and Yugoslavia. This leaves Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden to be considered.
We will now examine the history of each of these countries in turn.
Austria
“During the 8th century, after fratricidal strife
among the Germans, the Franks secured the throne of Bavaria. Fighting
continued during that century between the Avars and the Bavarians in the Danube
R. valley. At the end of the century the Frankish
emperor Charlemagne devastated the territory of the Avars and established a series
of outposts (military districts) of the empire in the country between the Enns
and Raab rivers to serve as buffer territories against future encroachment from
the east. One of these outposts was the
Ostmark (Eastern March), which later became known as the Ost Reich (Eastern
Country) or Österreich (Austria).
The Magyars, a nomadic people migrating slowly from the east, advanced easily
along the Danube R. valley until they
were finally defeated by the German king Otto I at Augsburg in 955 in the Battle of the Lechfeld.
Otto I revived the Eastern March and gave the more influential title of
margrave to its administrator; these moves marked the emergence of Austria as a political entity. The boundary of the Eastern March was slowly
extended eastward until in the early 11th century it reached what is now called
Moravia. The margrave
of Austria was subordinate to the duke of Bavaria, whose domain included this march. The main function of the margrave was the
defense of the march and the outlying areas, and for that purpose the margraves
enjoyed exceptional power. Between 976
and 1230 the Babenberg rulers of Austria contributed much to the growth of the march. They built cities and roads, encouraged
trade, and enhanced their prestige by participation in the Crusades.
The death of the last Babenberg was followed by a period of trial and unrest. King Ottokar II (1230?-78) of Bohemia occupied Austria, Styria, and Carniola. His power was opposed by
Rudolph von Hapsburg, who was crowned Holy Roman emperor in 1273. In 1278 Ottokar was defeated in battle by
Rudolf’s forces and slain. By 1283 most
of the former domain of Ottokar had come under the rule of Rudolf’s son Albert
I (1250?-1308).
The rise of the house of Hapsburg is closely linked to the rise of Austria. During the
14th and 15th centuries the Hapsburgs steadily increased their holdings in the
eastern part of the Holy Roman
Empire. With acquisition of the region surrounding
the Brenner Pass, the Hapsburg holdings extended from the upper Danube
to the upper Rhine and to the edge of the eastern Alps. Between 1438 and 1806 the rulers of Austria, with one exception, also held the title of Holy
Roman emperor.
The Austrian rulers enlarged their holdings by political agreements and by
marriage. It was said that while other
states made war, it was the good fortune of Austria to make marriages.
Flanders, Burgundy, Spain, Trieste, Styria, southern Tirol,
and all the present Austrian provinces (with the exception of Salzburg which was governed by an archbishop) became Hapsburg
possessions through marriage. With the
acquisition of the Netherlands through marriage in 1477, of the crown of Bohemia in 1526, and the crown of Hungary in 1527, The Hapsburgs made Austria the center of a vast empire.”
From
this we can see that Austria seems to be exactly what we are looking for. It was a very strong independent nation, and
definitely supported Catholicism. So Austria is the first horn.
Denmark
“About A.D. 950, all Denmark was united by King Harald Bluetooth. Harald introduced Christianity in Denmark. About 800,
Danish seamen began raiding European coastal towns and sailing away with slaves
and treasure. The Danish Vikings spread
terror throughout much of Western
Europe for about 300
years. They conquered England in 1013, and Danish kings ruled that country until
1042.
During the late 1100’s and early 1200’s, Danish power expanded along the
southern coast of the Baltic
sea to Estonia, which Denmark conquered in 1219.
But a long period of civil wars and struggles with north German cities,
beginning in the 1240’s, greatly weakened the country.
Denmark regained its power under Queen Margrete, who became
ruler in 1375. Margrete was also the
wife of King Haakon VI of Norway. After he died
in 1380, Margrete became ruler of Norway as well as Denmark. In 1388,
during political confusion in Sweden, Swedish noblemen elected her ruler of Sweden, too. In 1397,
Margrete united Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in the union of Kalmar, with power centered in Denmark. Sweden broke away from the union in 1523.
In 1536, during the Reformation, King Christian III established Lutheranism as
the official religion of Denmark. That same
year Christian made Norway a province of Denmark.”
Denmark also meets our requirements. It was a powerful nation which practiced
Catholicism up until the Reformation. Therefore
Denmark is our second horn.
Finland
“In the 1000’s, Sweden and Russia began a struggle for control of Finland. Both nations
wanted to extend their boundaries. In
addition, Sweden wanted to convert the Finns to Roman Catholicism, and
Russia wanted to convert them to Eastern Orthodoxy.
During the 1100’s and 1200’s, Sweden gradually conquered all Finland and established Roman Catholicism as the official religion. Many Swedes settled in Finland, and Swedish became the official language. However, Finns shared equal rights with
Swedes. About 1540, the Swedish king
made Lutheranism the official religion.”
From
this we can see that Finland does not meet our criteria. Although Catholicism was the predominant
religion, Finland never really existed as an independent sovereign
nation after it was converted to Catholicism.
It was a pawn in the struggle between Sweden and Russia. Therefore Finland is not one of our horns.
France
“By the mid-600’s, the Merovingian kings had become
weak rulers, interested chiefly in personal pleasures. Pepin the Herstal, the chief royal advisor,
gradually took over most of the royal powers.
His son, Charles Martel, extended the family’s power. Charles received the title Martel (the
Hammer) after defeating an invading Arab army in 732. The battle began near Tours and ended near Poiters. He became king of the Franks in all but
title.
Charles Martel’s son, Pepin the Short, overthrew the last Merovingian ruler and
became king of the Franks in 751. He
founded the Carolingian dynasty, and enlarged the Frankish kingdom. He also helped develop the political power of
the pope by giving Pope Stephen II a large gift of land north of Rome.
Pepin’s son, Charlemagne, was one of the mightiest conquerors of all time. After Charlemagne became king of the Franks,
he went on over fifty military campaigns and expanded his kingdom far beyond
the borders of what is now France. He also extended
the pope’s lands. In 800 Pope Leo III
crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans.
Charlemagne died in 814, and his three grandsons later fought among themselves
for control of his huge empire. They
divided it into three kingdoms in 843. In
the Treaty of Verdun, one grandson, Charles the Bald, received most of what is
now France. The second
kingdom consisted of much that is now Germany. The third
kingdom lay between the other two. It
consisted of a strip of land extending from the North Sea to central Italy.
By the late 900’s, the Carolingian kings had lost much power, and the strength
of the nobles had increased. The kings
became little more than feudal lords chosen by the other feudal nobles to lead
them in war. But in peacetime, most of
their authority extended only over their personal estates. In 987, the nobles ended the Carolingian line
of kings and chose Hugh Capet as their king.
He started the Capetian dynasty. Many
historians mark the beginning of the French nation from the coronation of Hugh
Capet.”
This
shows the beginnings of the French nation.
France remained an independent and Catholic nation until
the French Revolution in 1789. From this
we see that France does meet our criteria. Therefore France is our third horn.
Germany
“In 843, the Treaty of Verdun divided Charlemagne’s
empire into three kingdoms, one for each of his grandsons. Louis II (called the German) received lands
east of the Rhine River. His kingdom
became what is now Germany. The western
part, later called France, went to Charles I (the Bald). Lothair I received the middle kingdom, a
narrow strip that extended from the North Sea to central
Italy. He also kept
the title of emperor.
In 911, The German branch of the Frankish royal family died out. By then, the German kingdom consisted of five
powerful duchies (territories ruled by a duke)-Bavaria, Lorraine,
Franconia, Saxony, and Swabia. The German
dukes elected Conrad I of Franconia as king. In
919, Conrad was followed by Henry I (the Fowler) of Saxony,
whose family ruled until 1024. With the
founding of the Saxon dynasty, Germany became permanently separated from France.
Henry’s son, Otto I (the Great), drove invading Hungarians out of southern Germany in 955, and extended the German frontier in the North. Otto also won control over the old middle
Frankish kingdom, which gave him the right to claim the title of emperor. In 962, Otto was crowned emperor of Rome. This marked
the beginning of what later was called the Holy Roman Empire.”
Germany remained part of the Holy Roman Empire until Napoleon seized most of its territory in the
early nineteenth century. His conquests
brought about the official end of the Empire in 1806. So from 962 to 1806 Germany was not an independent nation. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire, and in reality part of Austria. Catholicism
was the dominant religion of this region, but since Germany was not an independent nation it fails to meet our
criteria. Therefore Germany is not one of our horns.
Great
Britain
Great
Britain
as a nation did not actually exist until 1707.
That is when England, Scotland, and Wales united to form Great Britain. In 1801 Northern Ireland joined Great Britain to form the United Kingdom. Before all of
this came about the area was generally referred to as England. We will now
examine the history of England in the centuries before it became Great Britain.
Groups known as the Angles and Saxons invaded England in the fifth century as soon as Rome had withdrawn its last legions. They subdued most of the Britons and were
able to fend off the Scots and Danes for the most part. They formed a strong central government which
helped to unify the country. For several
centuries England was ruled as a monarchy by Saxon kings. In 1066, after Edward the Confessor died
without leaving a direct heir, a French nobleman, William, Duke of Normandy,
claimed the throne and invaded England. William’s
conquest was successful and he became the king of England. As time
passed the Normans and Anglo-Saxons assimilated into one culture. Christianity had been introduced to England by Roman soldiers long before the Angles and Saxons
ever arrived. But Christianity did not
become the predominant religion of England until missionary efforts were undertaken by the
Catholic Church in the sixth
century. England remained a Catholic nation until 1534.
From this we can see that England was indeed a strong and sovereign nation which
practiced Catholicism. Thus it fits our
criteria, and is horn number four.
Hungary
“The history of the Hungarian state began in the late
800’s. At that time tribes of Magyars
swept from the east into the middle Danube basin—the
great lowland region bordering the Danube River that comprises most of present-day Hungary. The tribes
were led by a chief named Árpád. As the
Magyars advanced into the area, they began to establish settlements.
During the early 900’s, Magyar armies looted towns throughout much of Europe. But in 955, the
German king Otto I defeated the invading Magyars. The Magyars then ended their raids.
About 970, Árpád’s great-grandson Géza became leader of the Magyars. Géza began to organize the various Magyar
tribes into a united nation. After Géza
died, his son, Stephen, carried on the work.
Stephen, who was a Roman Catholic, asked Pope Sylvester II to give him the title king
of Hungary. The pope
agreed, and Stephen I, Hungary’s first king, was crowned in 1000. As king, Stephen made Roman Catholicism the
country’s official religion. For this
work, the Catholic Church declared him a
saint in 1083, 45 years after his death.
As a result of Stephen’s reign, Hungary became closely identified with the culture and
politics of Western Europe.
Árpád’s descendants ruled Hungary until 1301, when the last Árpád king died without an
heir. During the 300 years of the Árpáds’
reign, Hungary became firmly established as a Christian state. After the death of the last Árpád king in
1301, Hungary remained an independent kingdom for 225 more years.”
In
1526 Hungary was defeated by the Ottoman Turks, and the eastern
and southern parts of the country were occupied by the Turks. In the 1600’s Austria pushed the Turks out of Hungary and took control of the country. Austria retained the land until 1918 when, after the defeat
of Austria-Hungary in WWI, the two were separated and the Republic of Hungary was established.
This shows us that Hungary was a strong independent nation for centuries. It was the easternmost nation which adopted
Catholicism as its official religion. So
Hungary meets our criteria, and is our fifth horn.
Italy
“In 476, Odoacer seized power in Italy. He ruled well
for 13 years. Then he was attacked and
defeated by Theodoric, the king of another Germanic tribe, the Ostrogoths. Theodoric and Odoacer ruled jointly until
493, when Theodoric murdered Odoacer. Theodoric
continued to rule Italy with an army of Ostrogoths and a government that was mostly Italian. He brought peace to the country, but after
his death in 526, the kingdom began to grow weak. By 533, Justinian, the Byzantine emperor who
ruled the eastern part of the Roman
Empire, expelled the
Ostrogoths. The old Roman Empire was united again.
But Byzantine rule in Italy collapsed by 572 as a result of invasions by another
Germanic tribe, the Lombards.
During the 400’s and 500’s, the popes increased their influence in both
religious and political matters in Italy. It was
usually the popes who led attempts to protect Italy from invasion or to soften foreign rule. For about 200 years the popes opposed
attempts by the Lombards, a Germanic tribe which had captured most of Italy, to take over Rome as well. The
popes finally defeated the Lombards with the aid of two Frankish kings, Pepin the Short
and Charlemagne. In 800 Charlemagne was
crowned emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III.
The popes established their own political rule in what were called the Papal States in central Italy.
After Charlemagne’s death in 814, his son Louis I succeeded him. Louis divided the empire among his sons, who
fought each other for control of more territory. Battles for control of Italy continued until Otto the Great, the king of Germany, became Holy Roman Emperor in 962.
From the 1000’s on, Italian cities began to grow rapidly in independence and
importance. They became centers of
political life, banking, and foreign trade.
Some cities became wealthy, and many including Florence, Genoa, Milan, Pisa,
and Venice, grew into almost independent city-states. Each had its own foreign policy and developed
its own political life. They all
resisted the efforts of noblemen and emperors to control them. During the 1300’s and 1400’s, some Italian
city-states ranked among the most important powers of Europe.
In 1519, King Charles I of Spain, a member of the Habsburg family, became Emperor
Charles V of the Holy Roman
Empire. The power of Charles V lay chiefly in the
riches of the lands under Spanish control.
In 1521, a war over rival claims of territory broke out between Spain and France. Spanish
troops looted Rome in 1527, and later took Milan and Sicily from France. By 1559,
almost all of Italy was under the influence of Spain. Ferdinand I,
Charles’s brother succeeded Charles in 1556, and the title of emperor passed
from the Spanish Habsburgs to the Austrian Habsburgs. Spain gradually lost power in Europe and, by the
early 1700’s control of Italy had passed from Spain to Austria. During the 1700’s
Austria governed Milan and controlled most of the rest of Italy through local rulers who were loyal to the Austrian
king.”
From
this we can see that the territory which is today known as Italy never contained an independent nation. The central third was more or less controlled
by the popes. The northern third was
controlled by France, Spain, and then Austria. The southern
third was composed of independent city-states for several centuries, but
eventually fell under the sway of France, Spain, and Austria successively. Although
this region contained the seat of Roman Catholicism, there was never an
independent kingdom located there. Thus Italy fails to meet our criteria, and is not one of our
horns.
The Netherlands
“During the 400’s, Germanic peoples called the Franks
drove the Romans out of the Low
Countries. The Frankish kingdom expanded, but broke
apart during the 800’s. In 870, the Low Countries were divided between the East and West Frankish
kingdoms (later Germany and France). The northern
part, including what is now The Netherlands, became part of the East Frankish
kingdom.
At first, the French and German rulers of the Low Countries paid little attention to the region. Local dukes, counts, and bishops became
increasingly powerful. But during the
1100’s, trade and industry began to expand rapidly in the Low Countries. Fishing,
shipbuilding, shipping, and textile manufacturing became especially important. The French and German kings became interested
in the Low Countries after the thriving trade developed. The towns, which wanted to stay free,
supported the local nobles in struggles against the foreign rulers.
Beginning in the 1300’s, the French dukes of Burgundy won control of most of the Low Countries through inheritance, marriage, purchase, and war. They promoted central government in the Low Countries, and political and national unity began to develop.
In 1516, Duke Charles of Burgundy
also became king of Spain. In this way,
the Low Countries came under Spanish control. Charles became archduke of Austria and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 1519. Beginning
in 1520, Charles further strengthened the central government of the Low Countries.
During the early 1500’s, the Protestant movement called the Reformation spread
through the Low Countries. Charles tried
to stop this threat to Roman Catholicism by persecuting Protestants. His son, Philip II of Spain, inherited the Low Countries in 1555. Philip
stepped up the struggle against Protestants, and tried to take complete power over
the Low Countries. In 1568, the
nobles there revolted against his harsh rule.
They were led by William I (called the Silent), prince of Orange.
The Spanish troops were generally successful in land battles, but the rebels’
ships controlled the sea. The Spaniards
attacked Leiden in 1573, but the city held out bravely. In 1574, the people opened dikes that held
back the sea, and a Dutch fleet sailed over the flood waters to
rescue Leiden from the Spaniards.
By 1579, the revolt had started to break apart.
Roman Catholic nobles in the
southern provinces of the Low
Countries (now Belgium) had become dissatisfied and returned to Spanish
control. Protestantism was strongest in
the northern
provinces (now
The Netherlands). In 1579, most of the
provinces formed the Union of Utretch and pledged to continue the revolt.
On July
26, 1581, the northern provinces declared their independence from Spain, beginning what later became known as the Dutch Republic or The Netherlands.
The Dutch fought for their freedom until 1648, except for a temporary
peace from 1609 to 1621. Spain finally recognized Dutch independence in 1648.”
From
this we can see that by the time The Netherlands finally achieved their
independence from Spain, they had already revolted against Catholicism and adopted
Protestantism. Therefore The Netherlands
do not meet our requirements, and are not one of our horns.
Norway
“Viking sea raiders from the Norwegian communities
spread terror through much of western Europe for about 300
years. Beginning with the British Isles about A.D. 800, they attacked coastal towns and
sailed away with slaves and treasure. The
Vikings also sailed west and established colonies in the Faero Islands and other North Atlantic
islands. About 870, they explored
further west and colonized Iceland. Eric the Red
brought the first group of settlers to Greenland about 985. About 1000, his son,
Leif Ericson, led what is believed to have been the first voyage of Europeans
to the mainland of America.
About 900, much of present-day Norway was united under Norway’s first king, Harold I (called Fairhair), or Harald I. He defeated many local chieftains and kings,
and others recognized his leadership. King
Olav I introduced Christianity to Norway during the 990’s.
During the early 1000’s, Olav II achieved full Norwegian unity and
firmly established Christianity. He
became Norway’s patron saint in 1031.
The Viking period ended during the late 1000’s.
The church grew in power, foreign trade expanded, and religious and
trading centers became important cities.
Political confusion and struggles for royal power also developed. Beginning in 1130, many regional leaders
claimed the throne. They were defeated
in a series of civil wars that lasted until 1240. Peace was restored under Haakon IV. By 1300, Norway’s economy was largely controlled by north German
merchants. Norway had become dependent on them for grain imports. The country was weakened further in 1349 and
1350, when about half the Norwegian people died in an epidemic of bubonic
plague.
Margrete, the wife of King Haakon VI of Norway, was also the daughter of the king of Denmark. After her
father died in 1375, she became the Danish ruler. Haakon died in 1380, and Margrete became
ruler of Norway as well. In
1388, during political confusion in Sweden, Swedish noblemen elected her to rule that country,
too. In 1397, in the Union of Kalmar,
Margrete united Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, with power centered in Denmark. Sweden revolted against the Danish rule several times, and
broke away from the union in 1523.
Under the Danish-controlled union, Norway grew weaker and Denmark grew stronger.
In 1536 Denmark declared Norway a Danish province and made Lutheranism the official Norwegian
religion.”
From
this we can see that Norway was a strong Catholic nation until
the time of the Reformation. In the
first half of the sixteenth century all three Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden switched from Catholicism to Protestantism. Norway was an independent nation until this time, although
it was part of a union with Denmark and Sweden. Thus Norway does meet our criteria, and is our sixth horn.
Poland
“Members of the Piast family became the first rulers
of Poland. By the
mid-900’s, Prince Mieszko I ruled over most of the land along the Vistula and Oder rivers. His
son, Bolesław I, conquered parts of what are now Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and Russia. In 1025,
Bolesław was crowned the first king of Poland. After his
death later that year, Poland went through periods of warfare and disunity. By the mid-1100’s, it had broken up, into
several sections, each ruled by a different noble.
During the 1200’s, various peoples invaded and conquered parts of Poland. Most of the
country was finally reunified in the 1300’s.
Casimir the Great, the last Piast monarch, ruled Poland from 1333 to 1370.
Casimir formed a strong central government, strengthened the economy of
the country and encouraged cultural development.
In 1386, Queen Jadwiga of Poland married Władysław Jagiełło, the
Grand Duke of Lithuania. Jagiełło
ruled both Poland and Lithuania as king, but each country remained largely
self-governing.
Jagiellonian kings ruled Poland for nearly 200 years.
Under their leadership, Poland expanded its territory and made important advances in
its cultural, economic, and political development. The Polish Empire reached its height during
the 1500’s, when it covered a large part of central Europe, including the Ukraine and other Russian lands.
In spite of the advances of the Jagiellonian period, signs of strain developed
after the mid-1500’s. The monarchy began
to lose power to the nobles, who dominated the parliament. After the death of the last Jagiellonian
monarch in 1572, Polish kings were elected by the nobles. Some of the elected kings were foreigners,
who proved to be ineffective rulers. Rivalries
among the nobles weakened the parliament, and costly wars ruined the economy.
Poland lost much of its territory in the Ukraine as a result of a rebellion there in 1648. In 1655, Sweden won control over most of Poland’s Baltic provinces.
A series of wars with Turkey finally ended with a Polish victory at the Battle of
Vienna in 1683.”
“The Poles adopted Christianity in A.D. 966.
Throughout their history, they remained loyal to the Roman Catholic Church, though people in neighboring countries practiced
Protestant or Eastern Orthodox religions.”
From
this we can easily see that Poland meets our requirements. It was a very strong power for many
centuries, and was an adamant supporter of Catholicism. Thus Poland is our seventh horn.
Portugal
“Germanic tribes swept across the West Roman Empire in the A.D. 400’s, and helped bring about its
collapse in 476. The Visigoths, one of
the tribes, conquered the Iberian
Peninsula. The Visigoths were Christians, and Portugal remained a Christian land under their rule.
In the early 700’s, North African Muslims conquered most of what are now Portugal and Spain. They
influenced Portuguese civilization in many ways. They constructed Arab-style buildings,
introduced new crops, and improved education and the system of roads.
Many Christians of the Iberian
Peninsula opposed Muslim
rule. Christian opposition was
especially strong in the north. The
Christians struggled to retake their lands for hundreds of years. In the 1000’s, they gained the upper hand. By the mid-1200’s, the Christians had driven
the Muslims from Portugal and from most of Spain.
Henry of Burgundy, a French nobleman, had joined the Iberian Christians in
their fight against the Muslims. In
1094, Alfonso VI, a Christian king of Spain, rewarded Henry with the counties of Porto
and Coimbra, in what is now northern Portugal. Alfonso named
Henry the Count of Portugal. Portugal was then considered a part of Spain.
Henry of Burgundy’s son, Alfonso Henriques, won many victories over the Muslims. In 1143, he took the title king of Portugal, and established Portugal as a kingdom independent from Spain.
In 1385, a new royal line, the House of Aviz, came to the Portuguese throne. King John I became the
first Aviz king. His armies defeated
Spanish forces and helped guarantee the future independence of Portugal from its powerful neighbor to the east. King John also made an alliance with England. This
alliance, still in force, is the oldest existing political alliance in Europe.”
From
this we see that once Portugal broke away from Spain in 1143 it was an independent nation. And since Catholicism was the national
religion of Portugal it fulfills our requirements. Thus Portugal is our eighth horn.
Spain
“During the 400’s, invading Germanic tribes swept
across the West Roman Empire and helped bring about its collapse in 476. One tribe, the Visigoths, invaded Spain and conquered the entire peninsula by 573. The Visigoths set up a monarchy in Spain that was the first separate and independent
government to rule the entire peninsula.
The Visigoths, who were Christians, tried to establish a civilization
like that of the Romans. But continued
fighting among the Visigoth nobles and repeated revolts of the nobles against
the kings weakened the nation.
The Visigoths ruled Spain until the early 700’s, when Moors from northern Africa
invaded the country. The invasion began
in 711, and the Moors conquered almost all the Visigoth kingdom by 718. Only the narrow mountainous region across far
northern Spain remained free of Moorish rule.
The Moorish government of Spain collapsed during the early 1000’s because of fighting
among groups of Moors. The country then
split into many small Moorish states and independent cities.
Groups of Visigoths and other Christians in far northern Spain remained independent following the Moorish conquest. These groups formed a series of kingdoms that
extended from Spain’s northwest coast to the Mediterranean Sea. During the 1000’s, these kingdoms began to
expand and push the Moors southward.
By the late 1200’s, the Muslim territory in Spain had been reduced to the Kingdom of Granada in the south. The Christian
kingdoms of Aragon, Navarre, and Castille controlled the rest of what is now Spain. In 1469,
Prince Ferdinand of Aragon married Princess Isabella of Castile. Isabella
became queen of Castile in 1474, and Ferdinand became king of Aragon in 1479. Almost
all of what is now Spain thus came under their rule.
In 1516, a grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella became King Charles I of Spain. Charles had
ruled the Low Countries (what are now Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands), and he brought these lands
into the Spanish kingdom. The Spanish
Empire reached its height during the reign of Charles’s son, Philip II, who
became king in 1556.”
This
shows that Spain was a very important Catholic power for
centuries. Therefore Spain also meets our criteria and is our ninth horn.
Sweden
“Beginning about A.D. 800, Scandinavian adventurers
called Vikings sailed to many parts of the world. They acquired wealth by trade and conquest. Most of the Norwegian and Danish Vikings
sailed Westward. The Swedish Vikings
went eastward across Russia, as far as the Black and Caspian seas. The Swedes traded slaves and furs for gold,
silver, and luxury goods. The Viking
expeditions lasted until the 1000’s. Much
of Sweden’s trade with the east then came into the hands of
German merchants, who settled in the town of Visby on the island of Gotland.
Christianity was first preached in Sweden in A.D. 829 by Saint Anskar, a Frankish monk. His
missionary work began a struggle between Christianity and paganism that lasted
about 200 years. The first Christian
king of Sweden was Olof Skotkonung, who ruled from the late 900’s
until the early 1000’s. Christianity
brought about great changes in Sweden. The clergy founded
schools, encouraged the arts, and set down Sweden’s laws in writing.
By the 1000’s, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway had become separate kingdoms. Sweden began to develop along partly feudal lines. There were three social classes-the clergy, the nobles, and the peasants. Above them was the king, who was elected by
the provincial lawmaking assemblies. In
1249, Sweden conquered much of Finland.
During the 1200’s and 1300’s, constant struggles took place between the rulers
of Sweden and the nobles.
In 1388, to oppose the growing German influence in Sweden’s affairs, the nobles turned for help to Queen
Margrete of Denmark and Norway. The Germans
were defeated in 1389, and the three Scandinavian countries were united under
Margrete in 1397. A treaty called the
Union of Kalmar laid down the conditions of the union between the three
countries. This treaty provided for a
common foreign policy, but separate national councils and the continuation of
existing laws in each country. Except
for a few short periods of separation, the union lasted over 100 years.
Under the influence of German merchants, Sweden’s economy developed considerably during the 1200’s
and 1300’s. These merchants developed Sweden’s mineral resources and controlled Swedish trade. Plague wiped out a large part of Sweden’s population in 1350, and caused an economic decline. The German merchants, with their powerful
association called the Hanseatic
League, increased their
control of Swedish trade.
During the late 1400’s, the Riksdag (parliament) developed into a lawmaking and
tax-raising body. Members of a new
social class, the merchants, joined the other three classes as members of the
Riksdag.
The union with Norway and Denmark continued throughout most of the 1400’s. But many struggles took place between
supporters and opponents of the union. Gustavus
Vasa, A Swedish noble, finally broke away from the union in 1523 after
defeating the Danes. He became king
Gustavus I of independent Sweden that year. Norway remained under Danish rule.
Gustavus encouraged the followers of Martin Luther, the German religious
reformer, to spread their ideas. About
1540, the Lutheran religion became the state religion of Sweden. Gustavus also
increased the power of the throne and laid the foundations of the modern
Swedish state. He centralized the
administration, dealt harshly with revolts, built an efficient army, and
encouraged trade and industry.”
From
this we can see that Sweden was a powerful nation for centuries. Even during the time when it was part of the
union with Denmark and Norway it retained its individuality as a nation. And until 1540 it was a Catholic nation. So, like the other two Scandinavian
countries, Denmark and Norway, Sweden meets our criteria, and is our tenth and final horn.
We have just examined the histories of the following countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. There were
four which failed to meet our criteria and were rejected. They were Finland, Germany, Italy, and The Netherlands.
This leaves us with Austria, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, which did meet our criteria. This is exactly ten nations as the Bible told
us there would be.
We can now determine from the histories we have just seen the exact period
covered by these ten kingdoms. Table VIII
is a list of the ten kingdoms with the dates that they became important
Catholic nations, and
the dates when they either ceased to exist or denounced Catholicism.
|
The Ten Horns of Revelation
|
|
Country
|
Begins
|
Ends
|
|
Austria
|
955
|
1806
|
|
Denmark
|
950
|
1536
|
|
England
|
843
|
1534
|
|
France
|
1066
|
1789
|
|
Hungary
|
1000
|
1526
|
|
Norway
|
1000
|
1536
|
|
Poland
|
1025
|
1795
|
|
Portugal
|
1143
|
1795
|
|
Spain
|
1050
|
1978
|
|
Sweden
|
1000
|
1540
|
Table VIII
This
shows a period of 383 years (1143-1526) when all ten of the kingdoms existed
simultaneously at catholic powers. As is
to be expected the highest point of the papacy occurred during this period of
time.
“Innocent III became pope in 1198. Under Innocent, papal influence over public
life in Christian Europe reached its
peak. He was feudal lord over much of Europe,
and he was a great administrator and jurist.”
“During the pontificate of Innocent III, from 1198 to 1216, nearly every
European ruler submitted to the power and authority of the Church.”
We
can clearly see the fulfillment of this prophesy in these ten nations. They upheld the papacy and lifted her to her
greatest heights.
17:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and
strength unto the beast.
These ten kingdoms are said to “have one mind” which means they will be
in agreement. All ten of the nations we
found had Roman Catholicism as their national religions. They all gave “their power and strength
unto the beast.” These ten nations
aligned themselves with the papacy and gave their economic, political, and
military strength to her. The primary
reason why so many kings chose to go along with the papacy is that it bolstered
their own positions. The papacy
supported the idea of monarchical government, which is not surprising since it
is one itself. The kings could, and
often did, claim that their position was ordained of God. The popes would sustain their claims and in
turn the kings would support the popes. Obviously
there was more to it than this, but the whole situation revolved around the
fact that both sides were profiting from the arrangement.
17:14 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.
During the time when all of these nations were Catholic they joined the
papacy in persecuting Christians. Whether
or not the kings really wanted to join the pope in his efforts to stamp out
heresy was immaterial. The pope would
force the kings to do his bidding or else seek their overthrow in favor of a
more agreeable sovereign. Thus the kings
of Europe joined the
papacy in making “war with the lamb.”
“The Church thus undertook
to coerce the sovereign to persecution. It
would not listen to mercy, it would not hear of expediency. The monarch held his crown by the tenure of
extirpating heresy, of seeing that the laws were sharp and that they were
pitilessly enforced. Any hesitation was
visited with excommunication, and if this proved inefficacious, his dominions
were thrown open to the first hardy adventurer whom the Church would supply
with an army for his overthrow.
It was applied from the highest to the lowest, and the Church made every
dignitary feel that his station was an office in a universal theocracy wherein
all interests were subordinate to the great duty of maintaining the purity of
the faith. The hegemony of Europe was vested in
the Holy Roman Empire, and its coronation was a solemnly religious ceremony
in which the emperor was admitted to the lower orders of the priesthood, and
was made to anathematize all heresy raising itself against the holy Catholic Church. In handing him the ring, the pope told him
that it was a symbol that he was to destroy heresy; and in girding him with the
sword, that with it he was to strike down the enemies of the Church. Frederic II declared that he had received the
imperial dignity for the maintenance and propagation of the faith. Every prince and noble was made to understand
that his lands would be exposed to the spoiler if, after due notice, he
hesitated in trampling out heresy.”
We
can see the arrangement that the papacy had for dealing with those who were in
opposition to their teachings and practices.
It was literally a war with the Lord’s Church. Obviously,
many who held false beliefs, yet differed with Rome, were persecuted during this time. In fact, most of those who were persecuted
were not following the Bible pattern. Rome could care less what someone’s beliefs were, if they
were not in line with official Roman doctrine persecution was swift and
merciless. Although Rome didn’t care who they persecuted, their master
did. Satan wanted to destroy the
remnants of the Lord’s Church. But this
was a war that Rome and their master were destined to lose. The Lord and His Church cannot be defeated. Christ IS “Lord
of lords, and King of kings.”
“They that are with him,” refers to Christ’s people. They
are “with” him in that they are on his side in this great struggle between
Christ and Satan. They are referred to
as “called, and chosen, and faithful.”
God has called everyone to respond to His love and mercy and to become
part of His family. Many people do
actually respond to this call. But most
of those who do respond are not worthy, and are therefore not chosen of God. “For many are called, but few are chosen”
(Matthew 22:14). And of those
who are chosen many become unfaithful. The
Lord requires faithfulness to the ultimate end, death. “be thou faithful unto death, and I will
give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). So those who
are with the Lord can correctly be referred to as “called, and chosen, and
faithful.” These people cannot be defeated by Satan because they have
yielded themselves to God, and therefore are protected by His power.
17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest,
where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
When the woman was first introduced in verse one of this chapter she was
referred to as “the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.” The “many waters” are now explained to
be a great multitude of people. This has
reference to the papacy’s involvement with and power over many different
nations throughout Europe. By the year
1200 nearly all of Europe was Catholic and willingly
submitted to the power of the pope. There
were tens of millions of people in Europe at that time
and the vast majority freely accepted Catholicism, and most of the rest
pretended to accept it in order to escape persecution. This is where the true power of the popes lay. As long as most of the people in a nation
wanted Catholicism as the official religion, only a foolhardy king would try to
rock the boat. To struggle against the
Church was to struggle
against deeply held beliefs of the people.
This would only destabilize his kingdom.
No wise ruler wanted this, so consequently the popes had a much easier
time of controlling the kings since the general populous was Catholic. This is why we are now given the illustration
of the great whore sitting upon many waters.
The papacy sat upon the multitudes of Europe. They were the true strength and foundation of
this evil and ungodly force.
17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,
these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall
eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
The ten kingdoms which we identified in verse twelve are here seen to turn
against the papacy. “These shall hate
the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and
burn her with fire.” This indicates
not only an abandonment of the papacy, but also an active campaign against
Catholicism. To say that they will “hate
the whore” shows that their actions will not simply be what they feel to be
expedient, but will be the result of genuine hatred toward the papacy. Since the papacy continually tried to meddle
in the political affairs of other nations it is no wonder that bad feelings
would have developed.
They will also “make her desolate and naked.” This shows that they will strip the papacy of
much of her power, prestige, and wealth.
They will “eat her flesh” shows that their attitude will be like
that of a vicious predator attacking its prey.
These nations will turn against the papacy and attempt to ferociously
destroy her. “Burn her with fire”
reiterates the desire of these nations to utterly and completely destroy the
papacy; nothing destroys as completely as fire.
We are told that they will hate the papacy, but we are not told why. But this can be easily deduced. The Reformation marked the time when the
multitudes which we saw in the previous verse began to slowly turn away from
Catholicism. As this happened the kings
had less incentive to remain loyal to the pope.
By 1550 half of the ten kingdoms which had supported the papacy in the
past were gone. Four had converted to
Protestantism and one had been swallowed up by an invading army. Denmark, England, Norway, and Sweden all
rejected Catholicism and fell from the ranks of the pope’s supporters, and
Hungary was overrun by the Ottoman Turks.
These five had all left within a short period of fourteen years. This was a swift and decisive blow against
the papacy. It was a great erosion of
the foundation of the power of the papacy.
It would still be some 250 years before the actual death-blow would be
struck, but this period was definitely the beginning of the end of the papacy’s
power. By the early nineteenth century
the pope had lost nearly all of his political and military support. One by one each of the ten kingdoms deserted
the papacy. We will now examine each of
these in detail.
Austria
“In 1517, Martin Luther, a German monk, began to attack many teachings and practices of the
Roman Catholic Church. Nobles,
peasants, and townspeople joined this protestant movement, called the
Reformation, and it spread quickly. Some
princes were sincere reformers, but others became Protestants only to gain
church property. Many peasants hoped the
movement would free them from their lord’s control. They revolted against the lords in the
Peasant’s War of 1524-1525, but were brutally crushed.
Neither the pope nor Emperor Charles V could stop the Protestant movement. In 1555, Protestant princes forced Charles to
accept the peace of Augsburg. This treaty
gave each Lutheran and Roman Catholic prince the
right to force those under him to accept his religion. It also established a division of church
lands between the two religions.
During the mid-1500’s, the Roman Catholic Church began the
Counter Reformation. In this movement,
the church won back many Protestants by peaceful means or by force. By 1600, relatively few Protestants were left
in Austria, Bavaria,
and parts of Bohemia and the Rhineland. The rest of Germany remained chiefly Lutheran.”
“In 1618, Protestants in Bohemia
revolted against their Hapsburg ruler, who was a Roman Catholic. But they were
defeated in 1620. The revolt became the
start of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648).
This series of religious and political wars eventually involved most
European nations. The Peace of
Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War, declared that each German ruler
could determine the official religion of the state.”
While
this was by far not the end of Catholicism in Austria it marked the breaking of the papacy’s grip on this
country. To the Catholics, tolerance of
any other faiths was totally unacceptable.
Many of the local Austrian rulers continued to force Catholicism on
their subjects until the nineteenth century, but the damage had been done. As a nation, Austria had failed the Catholic Church.
Denmark
“In 1536, during the Reformation, King Christian III
established Lutheranism as the official religion of Denmark.”
The
Reformation was most successful in Northern Europe, and during the first half of the 1500’s all three of
the Scandinavian countries abandoned the papacy.
England
“Henry VIII inherited great wealth when he became king
in 1509. His father, Henry VII, had been
a thrifty ruler. Henry VIII was talented
and popular, but he was also selfish and wasteful. He enjoyed luxury, sports, good food, and
music.
For about 20 years, Henry VIII let Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, archbishop of York, manage the country.
But then, Henry wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon, the first of his
six wives. The pope refused to give
permission. In 1529, Henry took away
Wolsey’s authority and turned much power over to Thomas Cromwell, one of his
advisers. In 1534, Henry had Parliament
pass a law declaring that the king, not the pope, was supreme head of the
church in England.
Following Henry’s actions, English church leaders made changes in Roman
Catholic services that
gradually led to the formation of the Church of England. A number of Henry’s subjects who opposed him
were imprisoned or executed for treason.”
From
the time that the Church of England was
established England found itself constantly at war with the Catholic powers,
especially France. The loss of England, which was a very powerful nation, was especially
hurtful to the papacy.
France
We saw in great detail in chapter eleven how France violently turned against the Catholic Church. Christianity
was replaced by the worship of the goddess of Reason. Two popes were imprisoned, with the first
dying in captivity. Italy was invaded by the French Emperor Napoleon, and the Papal States were seized. Of
all the Catholic nations, France’s turn was the most violent and the most damaging to
the papacy. At that time France was the most powerful nation in the world, and to
lose their support was devastating to the papacy.
Hungary
“The Protestant Reformation had begun in Germany in the 1500’s and gained many followers in Hungary. Transylvania, in particular, had developed a tradition of
religious freedom, which allowed Protestants and Unitarians as well as
Catholics to establish churches.”
Even
before Hungary was swallowed up by the Ottoman Turks in 1526, the
reformation had greatly weakened the hold of Catholicism on the country. The simple fact that other faiths were
allowed to operate unmolested shows that the government of Hungary was no longer in step with Rome.
Norway
“In 1536, Denmark declared Norway a Danish province and made Lutheranism the official
Norwegian religion.”
At
the same time Norway lost its independence it was also made a Lutheran nation. But even prior to this the spirit of reform
had been working in the whole area. If Denmark had not done it, then it would have happened on its
own before too much longer. The
Reformation had found huge followings in that part of Europe, and its conquest of Norway was already a foregone conclusion.
Poland
“Poland’s decline continued into the 1700’s. In 1772, Austria, Prussia, and Russia took advantage of Poland’s weakness and partitioned Polish territory among
themselves. Austria seized land in southern Poland; Prussia took land in the west; and Russia took land in the east. As a result, Poland lost about a third of its territory and half its
population.
After the first partition, the Polish government adopted a series of reform
measures to stop the country’s decay. In
1791, a new constitution restored the hereditary monarchy. But the reforms came too late. In 1793, Prussia and Russia seized additional territory in eastern and western Poland. This second
partition led to an uprising among Poles in 1794. Polish forces under Thadeus Kosciusko fought
Russian and Prussian troops, but were defeated.
Austria, Russia, and Prussia carried out the third partition of Poland in 1795, dividing the rest of the country among
themselves. After the third partition, Poland no longer existed as a nation.”
Poland was not voluntarily removed from its support of the
papacy, but as its territory was gobbled up by its neighbors, the people became
part of nations which did not support the papacy. So it was more or less by default that Poland ceased to support the papacy.
Portugal
“Until the early 1900’s, the Roman Catholic Church was, in effect,
part of Portugal’s national government. The church and state were separated in 1911.”
Portugal is one of two nations which did not officially break
with the papacy until the twentieth century.
Although Portugal remained a Catholic nation until
1911, it had tolerated other faiths for decades. And besides this, Portugal had long before ceased to be a powerful nation which
could offer much political or military support to the papacy.
Spain
“Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of France in 1799. At
first, Napoleon allied France with Spain. But in 1808,
French forces invaded Spain and quickly won control of the government. Napoleon forced Ferdinand VII to give up the
Spanish throne and named Joseph Bonaparte, his brother, king of Spain.
The Spanish people bitterly resisted the French occupation. They struck back with a hit-and-run method of
fighting called the guerrilla (little war), a word used ever since to describe
such fighting. This opposition led to
the start of the Peninsular War later in 1808, when Great Britain joined Spain and Portugal against France. The French
were driven from the Peninsula in 1813.
During the Peninsular War, Spain’s Cortes—which had fled from Madrid to southern Spain—drew up a democratic constitution for the country. The new constitution reduced the power of the
Roman Catholic Church and increased
individual rights and freedoms.”
This
marked a temporary end to the papacy’s power in Spain. However, in
1851 Catholicism began another period of prominence in Spain which lasted more than a century.
“During most of the period from 1851 to 1978, Roman
Catholicism was the state religion of Spain. During that
time, the government restricted the rights of non-Catholics in some ways. For example, non-Catholics were not allowed
to try to win new followers for their religions, and only marriage ceremonies
performed by the Catholic Church were legal. Spain adopted a new constitution in 1978. Under provisions of the Constitution, Spain has no state religion, and people of all faiths are
allowed complete freedom in religious matters.”
In
reality the support of the papacy by Spain ended in 1808.
After that time Spain was in no position to offer much political or
military strength to the papacy. So the
real power ended in 1808, but the official end did not come until 1978.
Sweden
“Gustavus encouraged the followers of Martin Luther,
the German religious reformer, to spread their ideas. About 1540, the Lutheran religion became the
state religion of Sweden. Gustavus also increased the
power of the throne and laid the foundations of the modern Swedish state. He centralized the administration, dealt
harshly with revolts, built an efficient army, and encouraged trade and
industry.”
Like
Denmark and Norway, the Reformation took its toll on Catholicism in Sweden. Sweden joined its Scandinavian counterparts in breaking away
from Rome and establishing Protestantism as the official
religion.
We should not get the impression that everything was rosy up to the point that
each of the nations broke with Rome. The Reformation
had thrown the entire continent into turmoil.
Several wars were fought between the supporters of Catholicism and
Protestantism. Cracks could be seen in
the Catholic Empire long
before it actually collapsed.
“The period from the end of the Thirty Years’ War in
1648 to the outbreak of the French Revolution (1789-1799) has been called the
Revolt of the Catholic Kings. The period was marked by quarrels between
church and state, especially over an issue called Gallicanism. At the same time, the church was disrupted
from within by theological disputes, the most serious of which was over a
religious movement known as Jansenism. During
this period, much of the hostility toward the church centered in France.
Quarrels between church and state affected the papacy’s relations with almost
every Catholic country. One of the major disputes involved
Gallicanism—the idea that the authority of national churches should be
increased at the expense of papal authority.
Gallicanism developed in France, and the dispute over it became most critical there. King Louis XIV and Pope Innocent XI quarreled
over Louis’s attempts to increase his influence in French religious affairs. The quarrel led many French clergymen to
adopt doctrines that the papacy could not in conscience accept. For example, some French clergymen believed
that a general church council was superior to the pope. Although the controversy died down in the
1690’s, the French clergy remained
anti-Roman for many years.
Gallicanism, with its emphasis on nationalism, became popular in every European
country ruled by a Catholic monarch. During the late 1700’s, the Holy Roman
emperor, Joseph II, tried to separate the Catholic church in Austria from Rome. Joseph
considered the church a department of state whose task was to promote morality. He controlled all levels of the clergy and even
interfered with the liturgy. Rulers in Naples, Sardinia, Spain, and Venice followed Joseph’s example.
Jansenism arose in France in the mid-1600’s.
This religious movement was based on the writings of Cornelius Jansen,
bishop of Ypres, Belgium. Jansen
developed doctrines on divine grace that played down human freedom and denied
that Christ died for all
men. The church attacked some Jansenist
doctrines as heresy.
The movement tore Catholic France apart. It divided many French bishops from Rome and even attracted the attention of Kings Louis XIV
and Louis XV. The Catholic philosopher
and mathematician Blaise Pascal became a leading spokesman for Jansenism. Three popes condemned Jansenism—Innocent X in
1653, Alexander VII in 1656, and Clement XI in 1713. But their condemnation only increased the
controversy. Jansenism finally began to
lose influence in the 1730’s. But its
harsh idea of God and emphasis on damnation still influence some Catholics
today.
The Age of Reason was a period during which philosophers emphasized reason as
the best method of learning truth. The
Age of Reason lasted from the late 1600’s to the late 1700’s. During this time, many people attacked
religion in general, and the Catholic Church in particular,
which they claimed was unreasonable and filled with superstition. They also believed that the Catholic clergy’s obedience to Rome violated France’s sovereignty.
The leaders of the period included such brilliant French intellectuals
as Denis Diderot, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Voltaire.
During the mid and late 1700’s, several nations banned the Jesuit order from
their country and colonies. Portugal banned the Jesuits in 1759, France in 1764, and Spain in 1767. In
1773, pressure from Catholic rulers helped
force Pope Clement XIV to suppress the Jesuits in all countries.
The Jesuits were banned for several reasons.
Some Catholic rulers and
churchmen were jealous of the order’s influence. Some accused the Jesuits of accumulating too
much power and wealth. Gallicans opposed
the order’s complete devotion to the pope and the church.”
This
passage shows us that in reality the Catholic kings had
turned against the papacy long before Catholicism was officially renounced as
the official religion of their respective countries. For all practical purposes the ten nations
had turned against the papacy by the time the French Revolution occurred. This passage also sheds additional light on
what we saw in chapter eleven concerning the French Revolution. We can now see some of the underlying causes
of the violent repression of Catholicism during that period. This next passage brings the papacy’s loss of
support into even clearer focus.
“The widespread hostility to religious organizations
in the last half of the 18th century found virulent expression in the attitude
of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor and culminated in the sweeping anticlerical
decrees of the French Revolutionary assembly.
Thenceforth, the governments of even traditionally Catholic countries
displayed in their diplomacy an almost total lack of the deference to
ecclesiastical authority that for centuries had characterized their conduct.”
Here
we clearly see pointed out to us the reversal in attitude of the European
nations. By the late eighteenth century
they had all lost respect for the papacy.
Or to perhaps put it better, they had lost their fear of the papacy. The Reformation had loosened the iron grip
that Catholicism had on the European continent.
Kings could now oppose the pope without fearing for their political
survival. There was once a time when
open opposition to the pope would probably lead to a sovereign’s overthrow. But now, even though the pope would still
vehemently protest any dissension, there was little he could do about it. Neither the general population nor other
kings were very likely to attempt to intervene on the pope’s behalf. Thus his real power, which was coercion
through fear, was gone even before the French Revolution. In fact the astonishing events of the
Revolution were the product of the pope’s demise not the cause of it.
17:17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will,
and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God
shall be fulfilled.
God has always had a practice of using unrighteous men or nations to accomplish
His goals. At first this might seem to
be improper, but a closer examination will show otherwise. God is not forcing anyone to become evil or
to do anything against their will. He is
simply directing their evil intents in a direction which will accomplish good. God used the Assyrians and Babylonians to
punish Israel and Judah respectively. He allowed His people to be carried out of their
homes by these Gentile nations. These
nations were intent on conquest anyway, God simply decided how and when they
would be allowed to accomplish their desires.
God was the orchestrator, but not the instigator, of their evil actions. God simply uses the evil which is already
present in someone’s heart to His advantage.
Here it says God “put in their hearts to fulfil his will.” Certainly many of the things these men and
their nations did were evil. But God did
not put the evil in their hearts. He put
the desire to accomplish certain things in their hearts. The fact that they chose evil methods to
accomplish these things was their own decision.
In this case God allowed these ten nations to join themselves to the
papacy. It was usually politically
advantageous for a king to be in good favor with the pope. Certainly these kings desired stability and
security for themselves. God simply
showed them that this could be accomplished by aligning themselves with the
papacy, and allowed this relationship to continue until such time as He desired
to destroy the papacy.
“Give their kingdom unto the beast” does not mean that these kings
literally turned their thrones over to the papacy, but that they used the
military, political, and economic muscle of their kingdoms to support the
papacy. They allowed the papacy to take
advantage of their resources and power.
This arrangement was to continue “until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” Here in Revelation we see the prediction of
the breakup of this evil alliance. God
had long ago decided when all of this should come to an end. Consequently, at the proper time, he caused
the circumstances to be such that the Catholic kings would
find it desirable to turn against the papacy.
Again He merely used the greed and lust for power that these kings
already possessed to accomplish this.
17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city,
which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
This chapter closes with one more hint as to the identity of the woman. She is none other than the Roman Empire—carnal and spiritual.
From the city of Rome the
great Empire ruled over the entire Western world for over two-thousand years in
one form or another. Nothing else can
possibly fit this description. From His
headquarters in Rome, the pope—just like the emperors before him—enjoyed
enormous power and influence over the Western world for over a millennium. For a good part of that time it could
literally be said that he “reigneth over the kings of the earth.”