symbol of Rome in its decem-regal form. It was said of this beast,
it shall "go into perdition," (17:8); so that under some manifestation, it
must continue till the end of the world: the earth being "reserved unto
fire against the day of judgement, and perdition of ungodly men," 2 Pet.
3:7. As only in its divided form, the Roman empire continues till then,
the beast is here significant of the divisions represented by its ten
horns--the governments of modern Europe. "These shall 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,"
17:14.

"The false prophet," which is taken with the beast, is described as the
one "that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that
had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image," v.
20. This identifies him as the two-horned beast of Rev. 13. (13:11-17).
The two-horned beast being a representative of the Eastern Roman empire,
when that was subverted by the Turks it became the seat of the false
prophet,--the Mahometan hierarchy.

The kings of the earth must be the remaining governments which are not
represented by those two. By their subsequently warring with the Lamb, it
follows that the previous resurrection and translation of the saints does
not produce a cessation of all government. Those events may not be
apparent to all eyes; or they may serve only to madden the unbelieving,
and to make them more desperate in their infidelity.

They gather their armies to war against the Lamb. They resist his
authority. They will not have Him to reign over them. They are instigated
to oppose him by "unclean spirits like frogs" (16:13), which are the
spirits of devils [_demons_, understood by the Jews to be spirits of the
wicked dead] working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth
and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of
God Almighty, _Ib._ v. 14. This is when Christ is to "come as a thief;"
and they are to be gathered "into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon," 16:15, 16. This was the name of the valley at the foot of
Mount Megiddo (Judg. 5:19), which was famous as a valley of slaughter. In
it Jehu fought against Ahaziah and Joram, and slew both the kings of
Israel and Judah, 2 Kings 9:27. It was afterwards memorable for the death
of king Josiah, when Pharaoh-necho fought against him, (2 Kings 23:29)