with grave dangers, Rome was often governed by a dictator; hence this form of government is sometimes called the Dictatorship.  The third form was the Decemviri, a government by ten men, who compiled the twelve famous Tables of Laws.  In 444 B.C. another change was made by the appointment of Military Tribunes (whose numbers varied) with consular power.  These were frequently called Consuls.  The fifth form was the Triumvirate, a government by three men.  The sixth was the Imperial.  Hence the different forms can be enumerated thus:  1.  The Regal Power, or Kings. 2.  Consula or Dictators. 3.  Decemvirate. 4.  Military Tribunes, Tribunes, or Consuls. 5.  Triumvirate. 6.  Imperial.  The seventh form will be considered in another place.  See remarks on chap. 17:7-11.]

Other historians agree substantially with this.  These kingdoms all arose within one hundred and seventy years.  The dragon is described with the horns, although they were not now in existence and did not arise until nearly the time when the dragon became the beast; likewise, he is represented with seven heads, although he really possessed only one head at a time, and five had already fallen and one being yet to come.  He is described with all the heads and horns he ever had or was to have.

The tail of this dragon “drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.”  Some people who have never learned the nature of symbolic language try to imagine such a literal creature as the one here described and picture in their minds what an awful thing it would be to see the third part of the stars falling to the earth.  But real stars that are fixed or planetary never fall, and if they did, they would be as apt to fall in an opposite direction as toward the earth.  Besides, if one should come tumbling down here, it would knock this world into oblivion.  But with a knowledge of the proper use of symbols we can easily identify this dragon with the Roman empire under its Pagan form; and the casting down of the stars, which were doubtless used as symbols of ministers as in verse 1, signifies the warfare which this awful beast power waged against the church of God, in which her ministers were always a shining mark for the first persecution and suffered terribly for the cause they represented.

The man-child is the next object that claims our attention.  Some have supposed that it represented Jesus Christ in his first advent to the world.  But this could not be; for Christ is never represented as being the offspring of the church, but, on the other hand, is declared to be its originator.  Some, also, have supposed that it represented the church bringing forth Christ to the world in a spiritual sense.  This, however, would be in direct conflict with the known laws of symbolic language.  A visible, living, intelligent agent, such as this man-child evidently was, could not be the symbol of an invisible spiritual presence.  Besides, it has been clearly shown that Christ always appears in his own person, unrepresented by another, from the fact that he can not be symbolized.  It is clear that this child can not signify a single definite personage; for after he is caught up to God, there is still a remnant of the woman’s seed left upon earth.  See verse 17.