Mystery, Babylon, Part Two

Revelation 17:7-18 (KJV) And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. 9 And here [is] the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, [and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

Introduction

In our last installment, we were introduced to several things that will be explained to the Apostle John in this section.

A woman

Scarlet Colored Beast

In this passage, the angel discusses with John who and what the beast is. Open your bibles and let us study what the angel has in store for John.

Revelation 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

“And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, - John is somewhat confused at the vision of the beast and the woman riding the beast. The angel is sent to help John’s understanding of what he is seeing.

“…which hath the seven heads and ten horns” – The beast is strange looking with seven heads and ten horns, but the angel will have an answer. The question should be asked, “Is John seeing a literal woman and beast, or is this a metaphor?”

“Is John seeing a literal woman and beast, or is this a metaphor?”

Revelation 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

“The beast that thou sawest was, and is not” – The angel uses the phraseology of “that thou sawest” several times in this chapter (17:8, 12, 15, 16, 18) referring back to the previous six verses.

“…was, and is not” – is one of satanic imitations of both God and Christ as previously mentioned in the Revelation. Osborn writes:

This is a parody of both God and Christ. In 1:4, 8; 4:8; 11:17; 16:5, God is entitled (with some variation), "the one who was and who is and who is to come." Now the beast "once was and is not and is about to ascend from the abyss and go to destruction." It is clear from 13:4, 5, 6b, 8, 15 that the beast demands worship as "the god of this world.” In the same way, the "was and is not" parodies Jesus' death and resurrection. In 1:18 Christ says, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore…" (also 2:8). The beast imitates this in 13:3, 12, 14 with his "…wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed," and this in one sense alludes to that. This is the third time that the beast is said to ascend from the abyss. In 11:7, he ascends from the abyss in order to kill the two witnesses, and in 13:1 he ascends from the sea in order to become part of the false trinity and conduct the war of the dragon. In keeping with the language of 17: 8-11, this ascension has not yet occurred but is "about to" happen in the imminent future.[1]

“…and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition” – The beast, Antichrist, will be raised by out of the bottomless pit by Satan and will become his false messiah. Satan will give the beast, through his power and intimidation, worldwide rule (cf. 11:7; 13:3, 4).

The beast, as we already know, came out of the sea (13:1, the nations) and he is of satanic origin as he came from the bottomless pit (17:8).

The Greek word “apoleia” is not used much today. Perdition is “a word employed in the NT, in the sense of ‘destruction’ and with special reference to the fate of the wicked and their loss of eternal life (Rev. 17:8, 11).”[2]

Turn back to 9:11, and you will find that the king and angel over the bottomless pit is Abaddon (Hebrew) or Apollyon (Greek). This king’s name, Apollyon, is a derivative of the word perdition, apoleia. His name means destroyer and that is exactly what this beast has been able to complete for Satan, ruin.

However, those that “take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Mt. 26:52), will be applied to the beast. He will go into perdition: ruin and destruction.

“…and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. – Those that do not have a relationship with Jesus, “whose names were not written in the book of life”, will look with wonder and amazement, almost mesmerized, by all things of the beast.

Easley writes

John had been astonished (the same verb in Greek) when he had seen the prostitute, but he was not led astray. The world’s people will not fare so well, for “they followed the beast” (13:3).[3]

Revelation 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

“And here is the mind which hath wisdom” – The bible tells us that wisdom is worth searching for. Both the Psalmist and Solomon wrote about the importance of gaining or having wisdom.

Psalms 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Proverbs 3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

To the reader of this book, those that understand their world history and have a good understanding of the Kingdom of God will be able to draw the proper conclusions to the words of the angel.

Literally, “And here is the mind which hath wisdom” is translated as “and here is the meaning” or “This calls for a mind with wisdom.”

“The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” - is a key piece of the puzzle. (referring to 17:3)

In the first century, the anti-God city was Rome, the eternal city, famous for its seven hills. Ancient Latin writers have called Rome the “seven-hilled city.” They are Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, Palatine, and Capitoline hills.

The recipients of this book would certainly understand and grasp the reference to the woman as to a powerful entity, such as Rome very quickly.

Revelation 17:10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

“And there are seven kings” – Seven hills and now seven kings. The seven heads are seven kings. As this is a mystery, there have been all sorts of attempts made to make the seven kings fit into the history of Rome. There have been many kings of Rome, so the real problem is to find the starting point. If you start at the “one is”, to be the current ruler at the time of the writing of the Revelation, then Domitian would be the current “head.” The “other is not yet come” could be the next in line, Nerva, or some future antagonist for the church. (See Attachment 6 – Roman Emperors).

“…five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.” - What if there is a more symbolic interpretation. The number seven, in Hebrew literature often means completion. Then the five fallen kings could simply mean that the great kingdoms of the earth are nearing the end. In the Bible, five have already fallen: 1) Egypt (Ex. 1), 2) Assyria (2 Kings 15), 3) Babylonian (2 Kings 25), 4) Persian (Esther), and 5) the Seleucid (Dan. 8:23–25; 11:21–35) empires. The current or “one is” would be the 6) Roman Empire.

Note: Some commentators listing of the 5 kingdoms includes the combined kingdoms of Medo-Persian and inclusion of Greece.

The 7) “other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space” is impossible to identify from the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire. Many could find its place on this list but really pinpointing that kingdom is not possible. I believe the reason is that this 7thkingdom has not yet happened. It is in the future of John as well as us in the 21st century, so far. By all appearances, this could be a form of a revived “Roman” empire; one bent on the destruction of the church of God.

Revelation 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

“And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.” - The 7-year kingdom and reign of the Antichrist will be a product of the seventh kingdom.

It is apparent that when the Tribulation begins there will be a uniting of governments (kingdoms) as a result of the judgments. This combining of governments could be the 7thkingdom. When the Antichrist sets himself up as ultimate ruler in the world, the eighth kingdom will come out of this one world government. And, because the Antichrist comes out of the “one-world government”, he would be the distinct “eighth” government.

Revelation 17:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings” – There are kings over government or nations that fall in line with the Antichrist and are associated with the woman. In Daniels dream, he saw a figure that had “…ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings” (Dan. 7:24).

“…which have received no kingdom as yet” - In this case, these ten kings have not come to power and have no kingdom to rule, yet.

“…but receive power as kings one hour with the beast” – During the tribulation period, the woman, in association with the Beast, will come to power. “One hour” represents a very short time frame, not literally one hour.

Revelation 17:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

“These have one mind” – In the original Greek this phrase means, “they have one mind.” Seriously, it means that these ten will be of one purpose and resolve.

“…and shall give their power and strength unto the beast” – And who receives the combined allegiance of these kings? The Beast. The Harlot, working together are united in promoting the Antichrist. Consider the impossibility of this act. Throughout history, countries and nations have been at odds with all other nations. Each has its own needs and desires. But at times, like in World War I and World War II, countries pool their resources in order to fight for the greater good. In this case, they will throw their might and influence on the Antichrist through Babylon the Great.

Conclusion

1. Kingdoms will rise and fall during the Tribulation

2. These kingdoms will empower the Beast

3. We should not fear the Beast

[1]Osborne, Grant R. (2002) Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Revelation, Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Academic. P 615 [2] Douglas, J. D. (1996). Perdition. In D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, & D. J. Wiseman (Eds.), New Bible dictionary (3rd ed., p. 900). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [3] Easley, K. H. (1998). Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 309). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_hills_of_Rome