When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. 9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
15 And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”
The reference in 8 and 10 to past, present and future ('was, is not, shall be' etc) bear out the interpretation we have suggested in the foregoing Notes. For these have relevance not only with reference to the persecution in John's day which stopped for a time when Nero died and was renewed by Domitian, his successor (cf the legend in the ancient world that Nero would come back again) but also to the principle of evil in every generation, which was just as evident in pre-New Testament times as it was later. The weird prophecies in the book of Daniel bear this out. It is a matter of history that successive empires rose up in ancient times which persecuted and oppressed God's people - Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, as well as Rome. In this connection it is instructive to remember the origin of this word 'Babylon' in the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 6. It is the arrogant ambition of man rearing up against God that constitutes the spirit of Babylon, and it is this that is constantly 're-incarnated' as an evil reality in history, right down to the present age. The dramatic insights of that ancient story have much to contribute to a true understanding of John's visions, not least that it reminds us of how high God allowed men to build their tower before He chose to intervene for its destruction. The mills of God grind slowly....