Revelation 17:9 (KJV) And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
Here is the mind that hath wisdom… These words seem to be addressed to any temptation of taking an easy, literal view of the prophecy. As Plummer warned, any literal application as to the seven hills of Rome must not be considered to be the full significance of these words, despite the fact that, “They may indeed be a partial fulfillment, but not the whole signification.†[A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 417]
“The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth…†In this there is a subtle extension of the harlot’s stature, for she is represented a gathering up in herself all the authority and power of the first beast (13:1), even as did the second beast (13:12). “The seven heads†are here called seven mountains, just as they will be called seven kings in the next verse. Heads, mountains, kings… they all mean the same thing. Oh yes, to be sure, Rome sat on seven h ills, and it was quite natural to think of Rome in this context, for that was correct, in that Rome was indeed the sixth of the mountains, and the sixth of the kings, and the sixth of the heads. No mere “hills†are in view here.
“Rome dwells on her seven hills, but the Great Harlot in the vision sits among the great empires that have arisen, like mountains, in the history of the world.†[W. Boyd Carpenter, op cit., p. 612] Of course, there is not any connection, for the seven “hills†are not in it at all. There are no “mountains†in Rome. The seven mountains mean exactly the same thing as the seven heads and seven kings.
The seven mountains, kings, or kingdoms mentioned in this paragraph are seven manifestations of the beast in the successive eras of persecution suffered by God’s people: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, the latter being the “one is†when John wrote; and the seventh appeared after Rome fell [ Frank L. Cox, op. cit., p. 102]
Robertson fully agreed with this: “The seven mountains, or seven kings, are manifestations of the beast in successive eras of oppression suffered by the people of Godâ€Â. [Charles H. Roberson, Studies in Revelation (Tyler, Texas; P.D. Wilmeth, P.O. Box 3305, 1957), p. 130]
Revelation 17:18 (KJV) And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
“The great city…†This is mystery Babylon, not literal Babylon, but still actually Rome. How so? The city of Rome is the capital of the pagan empire, and of the harlot-beast that succeeded her as the seventh head, the headquarters fo her entire operation. She is still careful to preserve the name “Roman†in every particular of her worldwide operation. The view that makes this the literal city of Rome falls woefully short, requiring that the scope of the prophecy cannot extend beyond literal Rome’s rule as a world empire, an epoch that ended in 476 A.D. It also requires that the radical alteration of the symbol “Babylon†must be ignored. Therefore, we cannot accept the view that only the literal city of Rome is meant.
“Which reigneth over the kings of the earth…†This was literally true in John’s day; but it is equally true historically, today, and ever since the words ceased to have any application at all to the literal city.
This verse takes us right up to the judgment day; but another view of final events will be given in chapter 18, culminating in the final judgment recorded at the end of that chapter (18)
