I am not sure of the electron or selection process of early Bishops of Rome or early Popes. But this is known historical fact:
The
Byzantine Papacy was a period of
Byzantine domination of the Roman
papacy from 537 to 752, when popes required the approval of the
Byzantine Emperor for
episcopal consecration, and many popes were chosen from the
apocrisiarii (liaisons from the pope to the emperor) or the inhabitants of Byzantine-ruled
Greece,
Syria, or
Sicily.
Justinian I conquered the Italian peninsula in the
Gothic War (535–554) and
appointed the next three popes, a practice that would be continued by his successors and later be delegated to the
Exarchate of Ravenna.
At this point (537 AD) onward, the papacy had been corrupted to serve the empire or state.
I believe the office of Roman and the Eastern Roman emperor was the 1st Beast of Revelation.
The office of Roman Pope became the 2nd Beast of Revelation.
Here we can see in the era of the
Byzantine Papacy the Pope was corrupted and gave authority over to the Emperor or State. Thus the era of Church and State had been firmly established.
Thereby this is fulfillment of Rev 13:11-12
The Beast out of the Earth
Rev 13:11-12
Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.
- the Roman Empire healed its wound with Christianity by making it the official state religion.
- The Roman Pope was now corrupted, but maintained the appearance of being a servant of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God. Thus he had two horns like a lamb, but really was a servant and lackey for the Empire or State .