[bigpooch]

Obviously, the Roman Catholic Church isn't mentioned by
name nor is there any direct reference to the word church
("ekklesia" in NT Greek) between chapters 4 and 21 as far
as I can find. On the other hand, in Revelation 17, the
seven hills in verse nine could be an allusion to Rome,
but the Jewish reader of the first or second century
would think of Jerusalem.


[ Digression: It's interesting that there are three notable
cities, that are each situated on seven hills: Jerusalem,
Constantinople (now Istanbul), and Rome and the dominant
monotheism in each is different. ]


Verses 9-11:

9) "This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are
seven hills on which the woman sits.

10) They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is,
the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must
remain for a little while.

11) The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth
king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his
destruction.


Thus, the writer may be suggesting that the obvious allusion
to a city (whether it be Jerusalem or Rome) isn't the full
picture, for otherwise why is there need for a "mind with
wisdom"?

The Vatican is situated on Vatican Hill, the "eighth hill"
of Rome and during the reign of Pope Leo IV (c. 850 CE),
the city walls expanded to include it. [ The root word of
Vatican is translated "prophet" in English, so some
Protestants might even think of the Vatican as the "false
prophet". ]

Some protestants argue that the harlot in this chapter is
a reference to Roman Catholicism, and in some ways, they
could be right, but it's not the full meaning. A more
symbolic or metaphorical meaning should be suggested, just
as the churches earlier don't just refer to actual churches
but types of churches (for example, doesn't the church of
Laodicea remind us all of today's modern church?).

The seven kings don't merely refer to actual kings (as some
have strongly suggested), but types of government, the
seventh type likely to be the republic (most nations are
now, right?).

In any case, a syncretism of organized political and
religious powers, what Yeshua ("Jesus") warned about
concerning the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod in Mark
Chapter 8, will eventually be a reality. This all started
back during the reign of Constantine and will be in full
bloom someday in the future. The separation of the church
(or organized religion) and the state was and is a good, in
its present condition.