(1-3) Passover |
(4-5) Wavesheaf |
(6-7) Pentecost |
8-10 Trumpets |
| Day of Atonement |
16-19
 |
Tabernacles (14, 20-22) |
| 10 |
11 |
12-13 |
14-15 |
| Lamb | Church |
Accepted |
Seals | Sealing |
Judgment | Remnant |
Legal Case |
Satan |
Warning |
Destruction |
Rescued |
| Lamb |
Shepherd |
Priest |
King |
Judge |
Lawyer |
Prosecute |
Witness |
Angel |
Executioner |
Groom |
| Jesus Becomes King |
Judge |
Wrath of Satan |
God's Wrath |
Reward |
| Lamb of God (Seed) |
Holy Spirit (Water) Comes |
Growing |
Children of God named |
| Barley Harvest |
Rain |
Wheat and Grape Harvest |
Rain |
Fruit Harvest |
| Seed Planted Under the Earth |
Darkness (Seed Germinates) |
Light (Leaf) |
Reaping (Fruit) |
Symbols
Revelation 17 introduces Jesus as the judge and the one who punishes His enemies.
Here we see the profile of the human systems that were controlled by Satan.
It is a legal case that documents their power and control by the eighth head.
In the end the system collapses and since it is not built on Love, they consume each other during the fifth plague.
The symbols used involve the judgment of empires who fight God.
This is a theme echoed in the experience of Israel. They crossed over into the Promised Land after God subdued seven nations.
(Deuteronomy 7)
Background
We learned that in symbolic Bible Prophecy, a "woman" is symbolic of a church and a beast is a kingdom.
Here we see a power represented both as a church and a state.
Because the woman rides the beast, she is in the controlling position.
Previous prophecies showed this union of church and state as a beast which controls religious affairs.
It speaks against God and persecutes the people of God.
Here the prophecy gives an enlargement.
That power is actually two. It is a church that controls the governments of the world and a world controlled by the church and the state.
Let us identify the lady and the dragon.
The Great Harlot (The Dragon Lady)
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."
And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,
and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth."
And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly.
(Revelation 17: 1-6)
There are several points that identify the Great Harlot:
Religious Identity
The harlot is seen as one who demands a religious role.
Apostasy. A harlot is a symbol of a religious system in apostasy or rebellion against God.
It is a church system with wrong teachings that ignores the word of God.
It has formed an illegal union with another authority and is guilty of spiritual adultery.
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah." ... "How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
(Isaiah 1: 1, 21)
As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore I will change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit prostitution, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord. Prostitution and wine and new wine take away the heart. My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declares to them: for the spirit of prostitution has caused them to err, and they have gone prostituting from under their God.
(Hosea 4: 7-12. )
Authority of God. The harlot sits over many waters. This represents a church exercising the authority of God over many people.
... the great whore that sits upon many waters. (Revelation 17: 1)
It is God who is supposed to sit over many waters and rule nations.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
(Genesis 1: 2)
Give to the Lord the glory due to his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thunders: the Lord is upon many waters.
(Psalm 29: 2-3)
| The Garments of Rome |
Cardinal. Dress in scarlet or red.
Bishop. Dress in purple.
Pope.
There is also a gold dress that was used at the inauguration.
|
|
Harlot Priest. The Harlot is pictured as a disobedient priestess.
Gold, Purple, Red ... the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold ...
(Revelation 17: 4)
Notice the description of the garments of the true priests, and the colors contained within them. Compare these descriptions to the description of the colors of the clothing worn by the Great Whore.
Gold, Purple, Red, Blue. And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, and his sons, that he may minister to me in the priest's office. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.
(Exodus 28: 4-5)
Notice that the whore is missing the color blue. What color does this represent?
Blue Law. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be to you for a fringe, that you may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that you seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you use to go prostituting: That you may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.
(Numbers 15: 37-41)
So, what we see is the symbolism that the Great Whore represents a false priestly role, that is lacking the Law of God. It does not include all of God's ten Commandment Law and the result is prostitution.
Many Daughters. The Harlot is the mother of many daughter churches that have followed in her sin.
| Harlot Daughters |
Churches are doing evil to attract evil doers.
Wednesday Nights. Churches have strippers instead of prayer meetings.
Gangster Music. Young people are entertained with violent music.
Bad Shepherds. Pastors with "alternative life styles".
|
|
... The Mother of Harlots ... (Revelation 17: 5)
Remember, women in symbolic Bible prophecy, represent Churches. So the "Mother Church" has other churches that have come out of her, that have her characteristics still in them. The "Mother Church" has influenced her "daughters" to also become harlots. They apostatize from their proper relationship to Christ (God) and became guilty of prostitution with the world and idolatry.
Antichrist. The harlot and the beast are portrayed together as the Antichrist, or a rival of Christ.
Omnipresent Nature. The beast claims to exist in all time and have the power of resurrection. It has this power because it came back to life after it "is not".
... mystery of the woman, and of the beast..
... beast that was, and is not, and yet is ... (Revelation 17: 7-8)
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, said the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
... I am the first and the Last and the Living One; and I was dead, and behold I am alive forever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
(Revelation 1: 8, 17-18)
Jesus, at the beginning of Revelation, declares Himself to be the one
which is, and which was and which is to come.
In direct opposition, the Beast power claims to be the "beast that was, and is not, and yet is".
Jesus claims to have the keys, but notice also that the pope claims to hold the triple keys. These are the keys of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. He thinks that he controls where you go.
Political Identity
The harlot is seen as one who controls people and political powers of the whole world.
Mystery Name. The Harlot has the Mystery of the Beast written on her forehead.
The mystery number is 666.
and on her forehead, a name was written, a mystery, "Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth".
(Revelation 17: 5)
And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:" "Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred sixty and six.
(Revelation 13: 16, 18)
We learned in our study of Revelation 13 what it means to have the mark of the beast written on ones forehead. It is to mentally ascribe to and agree with the beast, to be committed to the Beast's authority.
Unknown Name.
Revelation 19: 12 describes Christ as having an unknown name.
Mystery of God. This is the Gospel. Specifically, it is the process by which God will write His name on our foreheads.
The mystery of the woman is the process by which she writes her character on the people of Babylon.
Global. The Harlot is identified as a great city with global influence.
The woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17: 18)
Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sits. (Revelation 17: 9)
It is within the city of Rome, called the city of seven hills, that the entire area of Vatican Sate proper is now confined.
The Catholic Encyclopedia (Thomas Nelson, 1976), s.v. "Rome."
| Local and Global Fulfillments |
Local | Global |
| Seven Hills of Rome | Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Pagan Rome, Papal Rome, Communism, Babylon the Great |
| Egypt | When France became spiritual Egypt, it conquered Egypt in 1798. |
| Babylon | When the United States became part of Babylon the Great, it conquered Iraq. |
| European Symbols | When Rome and the European Union became part of Babylon the Great they mysteriously adopted all the prophetic symbols in their culture |
The Seven Hills of Rome.
As we have come to learn in our lessons, God uses actual local physical events and places to identify spiritual and global realities.
Rome was built on seven hills. They are called Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, and Palatine.
The Aurelian Wall encloses the inner city and these seven hills.
The Seven Mountains of Babylon.
A mountain is symbolic of a government or power.
The seven mountains on which the papal system was built are the seven powers from Babylon to Babylon the Great.
In using both spiritual and physical identification God shows His genius.
While only the last generation can identify all seven spiritual mountains, every generation was able to
identify the correct city because of its seven hills!
Therefore the historical view of prophecy has truly been a correct guide to all generations.
Controls Nations.
And he said to me, The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. (Revelation 17: 15)
The harlot sits over many waters. These waters represent the nations of the world.
Babylon. The harlot is named Babylon. This is a cryptic name for Rome.
Local Fulfillment. Look at how the local signs connect the rebuilding of Rome to the building of Babylon.
| Rebuilding the Tower of Babel |
|
Symbol Usage.
Building
Sculptures
Murals
Stamps
Coins
Posters
Magazines
Phone card
|
 |
 |
 |
European Union Poster "Many Tongues, One Voice" | "Tower of Babel" Painting by Pieter Breugel |
European Union Parliament Building in Strasbourg Louise Weiss Building |
| The Legend of Europa |
 |
The legend has an eerie similarity to the symbols of Revelation.
Woman riding a beast
A beast in the sea.
A forbidden relationship
|
 |
|
Zeus saw Europa alone on the beach and lusted after her.
So he changed himself into a bull and lay down at her feet.
She climbed on his back and he plunged into the waves of the sea and raped her.
She conceived a son, and after her death she received divine honors as "Queen of Heaven".
The bull became the constellation Taurus.
|
Signs of the Times.
In these last days the symbols of Babylon are emerging within the popular culture.
This physical reality has emerged to give us a clue that Babylon has risen from its wounds.
I believe that God clouded the minds of the powers so that they used these symbols.
No good public relations firm would have endorsed this.
The purpose for the sudden reproduction of symbols in our times is most likely as a result of God's approval rather than Satan's mocking.
After waiting 2000 years for the development of the final beast, God has allowed these flares to be thrown up so that we can
pay attention and recognize that the end is near.
There is another article on this phenomenon that I call "Mock prophecy".
God seems to use this phenomenon when a major prophecy is about to end.
They are signs of the times.
If the European Union made such a big mistake, I wonder if the number 666 will openly or accidentally be assigned to someone?
Babylon: Religious.
The European Union is the entity that the church started and controls.
They chose the symbol of the building of the tower of Babel to represent their new union and for the design of their new parliament building in Strasbourg.
They also chose the symbol of a woman riding a beast to represent Europe on coins, stamps, sculptures and paintings.
They have symbolically assumed the title of Babylon.
- Naked Woman Riding a Beast. Painting in the ceiling of the new parliament building in Brussels, Belgium.
- Tower of Babel Design. The new parliament building in Strasbourg, France. It also has a mural of a naked woman riding a beast.
- Bronze Statue of Woman Riding a Beast. Outside the Brussels headquarters of the Council of Europe. The beast is riding on waves.
Why did Rome support an act of rebellion to symbolize their new union?
Like the first tower of Babel, God Himself will destroy this attempt by man to ignore the decisions of God.
Babylon: Political. In 1991 and 2003, the United States defeated and then occupied ancient Babylon (Iraq).
It has legally assumed the title of Babylon by the right of inheritance when we controlled the land.
Since then we have been involved in many activities that seem to be recreating the conditions at the time of the first fall of Babylon and
the first fall of the Papacy in the French revolution.
Law of Inheritance.
Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea.
(Deuteronomy 11: 24)
Babylon The Great. Together, they are Babylon the Great, assuming their symbols.
Revelation 13 shows how they persecute the earth. The United States does the persecuting work of the church with their approval.
|
Babylon is a code word for Rome. It is used that way six times in the last book of the Bible. Four of the six are in chapters 17 and 18 and in works outside of the Bible such as Sybling Oracles (5, 159f.), the Apocalypse of Baruch (ii, 1), and 4 Esdras (3: 1).
Eusebius Pamphilius, writing about 303, noted that "it is said that Peter's first epistle...was composed at Rome itself; and that he himself indicates this, referring to the city figuratively as Babylon."
Karl Keating, Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Biblical Christians", page 200.
The Sins Of The Harlot
Apostasy. Wine is a symbol of adultery, spiritual and moral apostasy. She has false doctrine that is corrupting and destructive.
Wine perverts justice and judgment and makes us forget the law.
... with the wine of her fornication. (Revelation 17: 2)
» Wine is a Source of Error. In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, to the residue of his people, And for a spirit of judgment to him that sits in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. (Isaiah 28: 5-7)
» Fools. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whoever is deceived by it is not wise. (Proverbs 20: 1)
» Wine Perverts Justice. Give not your strength to women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
(Proverbs 31: 3-5)
Adultery. The harlot has committed fornication with the kings of the Earth. Fornication is identified as the union of the church with the political kingdoms.
By "joining herself" to the kingdoms of the world, she (the apostate church) has spiritually committed herself to the world in place of staying committed to Christ. Remember, the Church is likened to the bride, and Christ as to the bridegroom. By going after the world, and the idolatry of the worldly systems, she has committed spiritual adultery.
And the Lord said to Moses, Look, you shall sleep with your fathers; and this people will rise up, and go prostituting after the gods of the strangers of the land, where they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
(Deuteronomy 31: 16-17)
She never learned the real source of her strength.
The king is not saved by a mighty army; a warrior is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a false hope of victory; nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
(Psalm 33: 16-17)
» Fornication: This is a word that captures the broad spectrum of sexual sins.
Babylon is pictured as being involved in many illegal unions with other nations.
A Beast is a Kingdom.
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. (Daniel 7: 17)
- Bestiality.
The Bible portrays the harlot's sin as fornication with a beast, in a spiritual sense.
The Woman Rides the Beast. The great harlot with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of their immorality.
And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
(Revelation 17: 2,3)
Neither shall you lie with any beast to defile yourself with it: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down there: it is confusion. (Leviticus 18: 23)
The Hebrew Word for "Confusion" in Verse 23 is "TEBEL".
It is a Hebrew noun derived from the Hebrew root for Babylon (Babel).
- Adultery and Prostitution.
She was caught in the act of adultery. She united with the kings and merchants of the world. God calls us to "come out of her".
Those who remain in Babylon are caught "in her", in the sexual act of an adulterous relationship because they never "came out of her".
Abandoned for Rebellion. The harlot rides the beast in the wilderness. The harlot is a church that is portrayed as a rebellious Israel who will never enter the Promised Land.
It will be abandoned in the wilderness.
... into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast...
... decked with gold and precious stones and pearls ... (Revelation 17: 3-4)
» The Wilderness.
Just like ancient Israel, the wilderness is seen as a place through which God leads and protects His people as they leave the land of slavery to sin. But the church was not supposed to stay in the wilderness forever.
Their destination is the Promised Land.
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.
(Revelation 12: 6-7)
» Leaving the Sins of Egypt.
The wilderness was a proving ground. God tried to teach the people to abandon the gods and culture of Egypt.
But they failed. Only two of the original people in the exodus actually crossed into the Promised Land.
The harlot does the same. She does not leave her abominations behind and the last generation is trapped in the wilderness with her.
Removed Ornaments.
And the Lord said to Moses, Depart, and go up hence, you and the people which you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, into the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, To your seed will I give it:
And I will send an angel before you; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
To a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the middle of you; for you are a stiff necked people: unless I consume you in the way.
And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.
For the Lord had said to Moses, Say to the children of Israel, you are a stiff necked people: I will come up into the middle of you in a moment, and consume you: therefore now put off your ornaments from you, that I may know what to do to you.
And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.
(Exodus 33: 1-6)
The phrase "by Mount Horeb" can be translated as "from Horeb onward". Mount Horeb is another name for Sinai.
Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. (Exodus 33: 6 R.S.V.)
After they met God, they started to remove their ornaments to symbolize leaving all that they has learned in Egypt. However, Revelation 17: 4 pictures the harlot as being decorated with precious jewels.
She has ignored the commandments at mount Horeb.
» Abandoned in the Wilderness. Israel will die in the wilderness if they remain rebellious.
And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed. And, Look, you are risen up in your fathers' place, an increase of sinful men, to augment more the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel. For if you turn away from after Him, He will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and You shall destroy all this people.
(Numbers 32: 13-15)
Blasphemy. The harlot is guilty of blasphemy.
... full of names of blasphemy ... (Revelation 17: 3)
The beast in Revelation 13 also had this characteristic because it is a composite image of a state that is controlled by the church.
Now that chapter 17 separates the symbols of church and state into a beast and woman, we see that this characteristic probably originates with the harlot church.
We learned that the Bible defines blasphemy as claiming to have the power and authority of God:
- A man claiming to be equal with God.
I and my father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of these works do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we do not stone you; but for blasphemy; and because that you, being a man, make yourself God. (John 10: 30-33)
- A man claiming to forgive sin.
"When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick of palsy, son, your sins are forgiven you. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why does this man so speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only."
(Mark 2: 5-7)
» Names of Blasphemy
The reference to "names of blasphemy" might even reveal that its titles are blasphemous.
Here are a few examples of titles and powers that the pope claims.
Eternal Priest, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The pope is the supreme judge of the law of the land ... He is the vicegerent (replacement) of Christ, who is not only a Priest forever, but also King of kings and Lord of lords." - La Civilia Cattolica, March 18, 1871, quoted in Leonard Woosely Bacaon, An inside view of the Vatican Council (American Tract Society ed.), page 229
God. The pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man (...) he is as it were God on earth, sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ, chief of kings, having plenitude of power."
- Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca, 1763, Volume VI, 'Papa II', pages.25-29
Jesus Christ. The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, he is Jesus Christ himself, hidden under the veil of flesh.
Catholic National July 1895
Creator. "... the power of the priest is the power of the divine person; for the transubstantiation of the bread requires as much power as the creation of the world. ... thus the priest may be called the creator of the Creator ..." - The diginity of the priesthood by Liguori, page 33
Murder. The harlot is guilty of the murder of the martyrs.
... drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus ...
(Revelation 17: 6)
This is the persecution of God's people during the 1260 years by the Roman church, and by the political powers under her authority.
The Spanish Inquisition.
The horrid conduct of this Holy Office [Inquisition] weakened the power and diminished the population of Spain by arresting the progress of arts, sciences, industry and commerce, and by compelling multitudes of families to abandon the kingdom; by instituting the expulsion of the Jews and Moors, and by immolating on its flaming shambles more than three hundred thousand victims.
Jean Antoine Llorente, Secretary of the Spanish Inquisition, 1790-92.
Heresy.
Through the influence of Gratian... and unwearied activity of the Popes and their legates since 1183, the view of the Church has been ... that every departure from the teaching of the Church, and every important opposition to any ecclesiastical ordinances, must be punished with death, and the most cruel deaths, by fire ...
J.H. Ignaz von Dollinger, The Pope and the Council, page 195.
Torture.
Clement V's Rebuke of King Edward II.
We hear that your forbid torture as contrary to the laws of your land. But no state law can override the Church's canon law, our law. Therefore I command you at once to submit those men to torture.
Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, Volume 4, page 680.
Hussite Extermination.
Pope Martin V (1417-31) Commanded the King of Poland to Exterminate the Hussites. -
Know that the interests of the Holy See, and those of your crown, make it a duty to exterminate the Hussites. Remember that those impious persons dare to proclaim principles of equality; they maintain that all Christian are brethren, and that God has not given to privileged men the right of ruling nations; they hold that Christ came on earth to abolish slavery; they call the people to liberty, that is to the annihilation of kings and priests.
While there is still time, then, turn your forces against Bohemia; burn, massacre, make deserts everywhere, for nothing could be more agreeable to God, or more useful to the cause of kings, then the extermination of the Hussites."
R.W. Thompson, The Papacy and Civil Power, page 553.
Heresy.
A Popular American Catholic Weekly in 1938, stated -
Heresy is an awful crime against God, and those who start a heresy are more guilty than they who are traitors to the civil government. If the state has the right to punish treason with death, the principle is the same that concedes to the spiritual authority [Roman Catholic Church] the power of life and death over the archtraitor [heretic]."
The tablet, November 5, 1938.
The Roman church is the only power that meets the description of the harlot that rides the beast.
It also meets the description of the little horn.
The Beast With The Seven Heads
The Evil Empire And the angel said to me, Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.
The Beast. The beast that you saw 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 saw the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Seven Mountains. And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits.
Seven Kings. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.
Ten Horns. And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Woman.
And the woman which you saw is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.
(Revelation 17: 7-12, 18)
These concepts are necessary to unravel the mystery of the beast.
- Woman. The woman is the church which rules the nations of the earth from the city of Rome.
- Beast. The Beast Was, Is Not, And Is Coming. This represents three phases of papal rule over the beast.
The beast that you saw 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 saw the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (Revelation 17: 8 )
- Was. The 1260 year reign of the papacy in the Dark Ages.
- Is Not. The loss of power in the French Revolution. Governments no longer felt that they needed to obey the church.
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13: 3, 8 )
The sixth global head "is not" at the time the sixth local head emerged.
- Is Coming. The healing of the Papacy's deadly wound began on 11 February 1929 with the signing of the Lateran treaties.
With the election of Benedict XVI there have been seven popes since its political healing began in 1929.
Many see this as a local sign that the seventh pope since the political healing, who appears in the time of the seventh global head many be the final pope before the great persecution of the eighth global head. So any popes after this are part of the system leading to the eighth head.
Since Benedict is seventy eight years old, he will rule a short time. Is he the seventh head of the seventh head?
We cannot tell.
» Update: Benedict XVI Ruled a Short Time. At his age death would have made his rule short. On 11 February 2013 Benedict XVI announced that he will resign 28 February 2013 at 20:00 GMT (8:00 PM EST). Lightning struck St Peter's dome hours later. He was the first pope to resign willingly since Celestine V in 1294. Gregory XII was forced to abdicate in 1415 to end a rival's claim to the office.
» Rules a Short Time.
The seventh head rules a short time.
The question is, how long will the combination of the United States and the papacy rule the world?
Their reign began in 1981. The original Babylon ruled for seventy years.
- Seven Heads on the Beast. These represent seven kings who are seven series of world empires.
... the seven heads are seven mountains ... and there are seven kings. (Revelation 17: 9, 10)
- The Seven Mountains. Although a beast, head, horn and mountain all represent kings or kingdoms, a mountain seems to represent a religious kingdom.
Satan is trying to dethrone God and occupy Mount Zion. In this attempt he is trying to build his own religious mountain. He will have seven unsuccessful attempts to rule through human agencies before he comes in person.
Revelation 12: 3 shows that the dragon has seven heads even before he attacks the woman.
This shows that in the spiritual realm Satan's kingdom is divided. It is also limited to seven administrations.
Daniel 10: 13, 20 shows that for each major power which overthrew Israel, Satan has a demonic prince in the spiritual realm over these earthly kingdoms.
So the seven headed spiritual dragon fathers seven physical world empires.
Their mission is to try to set up a religious kingdom over Mount Zion.
Daniel 10: 13, 21 also shows that God's kingdom is not divided. YHWH rules only one kingdom - Israel, and Michael is their Prince.
- The Eighth Head. The Beast itself is an ancient eighth who has lived throughout the reign of the seven kings. This is the figure for Satan.
It is Satan who will go into perdition during the millennium.
And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition. (Revelation 7: 11 )
The Seven Heads
The red beast of Revelation 17 represents the satanic phase of the church of Rome after its deadly wound is healed and it consolidates with the eighth head.
It is a composite of the red dragon of Revelation 12 and the seven headed beast of Revelation 13. And the seven headed beast of Revelation 13 is a composite of the beasts of Daniel 7.
And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space.
(Revelation 17: 10)
The seven heads are a series of powers that belong to one kingdom, that is the kingdom of Satan.
We have a reference to the past, present and future. Where was the angel in this timeline?
| The Phases of the Beast (Revelation 13 and 17) |
| Heads (1-5) | Sixth Head | Seventh Head | Eighth |
| 609 BC - 1798 | 1798-1989 | 1989-Future | Future |
| Five have fallen | One is | One will Come | Eighth |
| Beast who was | Beast is not | Beast Yet Is |
| Beast lives | Wounded | Healed |
|
|---|
The Past ("Was"): Five Fallen Kings
Since the first kingdom in Daniel 7 is the Lion, it is probably the first head of the beast in Revelation 13 and 17.
- Babylon (Lion)
- Medo-Persia (Bear)
- Greece (Leopard)
- Rome (Beast with ten horns)
- The Roman Papacy (The Little Horn Power). It is significant that this fifth head receives the fifth curse. Their first desolation.
The Present ("One Is"): The Sixth Head
Around 1798 and ending in 1918, the world transitioned to a new type of power structure. Countries were no longer ruled by dynasties of the privileged few.
The people began taking control of governments in the French revolution and monarchies fell all over the world at the end of World War 1.
The powers were splintered like the feet in Daniel's image. We are not merely looking for the most dominant power in the world. The power identified in prophecy must have certain characteristics and jurisdiction.
- Israel ("The People of God"). They must control the covenant people. However, after the cross this designation became more complicated because the banner passed from the Jews to the Christians. In addition, there is evidence that God considered the rebellious Israel as still one of the branches of His people that He deliberately separated into two branches until He unites them at the end of time.
So, at a minimum, the power must control scattered people, first the Christians and secondarily may control Israel.
The vast majority of Jews and Christians lived outside Israel, in Europe and in the United States.
- Controls Roman Empire. It must control the region of the previous empire.
- Defeats the Fifth Head. It must defeat the Papacy around the year 1798.
- Defeated by the Seventh Head. It must be defeated by the United States and the Papacy after the year 1981 when Babylon the Great emerged.
So what was the power that controlled the covenant people, defeated the Papacy and was defeated by the United States?
The prophecies of Daniel could not define it in concrete terms like the previous nations because it would be a diffuse power.
It was a philosophy that would take hold of many nations and its source was Satanic.
The sixth head is also identified in Revelation. It is the beast from the abyss.
When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. (Revelation 11: 7)
Six is the Number of Man (Atheism, Secularism and Communism).
| Praetorist View |
Some interpretations have assumed that the sixth head is the Pagan Roman empire that was ruling when John received the vision.
So the use of the present tense of the verb points to the time of John.
But the purpose of the vision was to bring John forward in time to the future, for the judgment of the harlot at the end of time. (See verse 1)
Therefore, the time that "is" is the time of the judgment of the harlot which began around 1844.
This is the time to which the angel brought John in the vision.
|
|
Appropriately, a human system of religion emerges in this period.
The beast from the abyss in Revelation 11: 7 is a humanistic secular power that emerges after 1798 as a result of the French Revolution.
The communist empire was the only such power.
Here are the candidates.
- Islam and the Ottoman Empire. They controlled the Middle East, but not Europe. They eventually defeated the Christian nations in the crusades to control the region but they did not cause the fall of the Papacy. They are now at war with the United States.
- Strong Empires. Some of the pieces of the Roman empire would be strong (Daniel 2: 42). Are they the next power?
- France. The French defeated the papacy but immediately put it back in power. However, the philosophies engineered in this revolution took hold of the world.
- Spanish Empire. They controlled most of the Catholic Christian nations outside Europe and were defeated by the United States but did not control Europe.
- British Empire. They controlled the Middle East, and most of the Protestant Christian nations outside Europe and were defeated by the United States in 1776. As a Protestant empire, it certainly was the enemy of Rome, but it did not control Europe, only parts of North Africa.
The pattern has always been that a new force takes over the old empire.
- Democracy and Secularism. This form of government conquered the splintered western Roman empire, but with it came secularism.
- Business (Trade and Commerce). Babylon was a center of trade and in Revelation the businessmen are punished.
When families and clergy no longer ruled the people, then those with money set up kings and kingdoms. In fact, democracy is becoming a form of government that exists to protect businesses.
Governments pass laws, fight wars, change technologies to gain business advantage and create new markets for business.
Powerful business interests are behind the rise and fall of leaders and nations, economies and the trafficking of the powerless as part of their business assets. These robber barons emerged with the industrial age and they will be annihilated by the next stone age when they are crushed by the Rock.
- Communism and Atheism. They embraced atheism and were hostile to the church, not only because of atheism but also because the Orthodox church was at enmity with the Catholic church. At its height it dominated over half the world and trapped the Christians behind an iron curtain of atheism, including part of the Roman empire.
They were defeated by the combined efforts of the United States and the papacy around 1981.
The Communist empire emerged from the atheistic, materialistic philosophy of the French Revolution and was defeated by the United States. It is the beast from the abyss. It is the sixth Head.
During the time of this head, the church becomes the beast that once was, but now "is not" and "will come".
Babylon the great has now become a center of commerce, embracing secularism, democracy, atheism and even adopting some of the behavior of the communist empire as freedoms are sharply restricted and media is controlled by business interests in collusion with the government.
We are now imprisoned behind an electronic iron curtain, spray painted with advertising and delusions of freedom.
The Fall of Atheism.
According to the fifth trumpet, the beast from the abyss will fill the earth with darkness for five months (150 years).
On 21 December 2008, 150 years after Charles Darwin wrote his book "Origin of the Species" (24 November 1859) God began to give evidence of modern science in the Bible that is bound to make people stand in awe and respect of the Torah and question what they have been taught by science regarding evolution and atheism.
The portable sanctuary is a model of the Periodic Table of chemistry by the four blocks.
It is also a model of quantum physics which is far superior than the two prevailing models called the Standard Model and String Theory.
It shows the particles and forces that make the atom and how they are related to each other. It also shows the matter-antimatter relationship, dark matter, and the source of gravity and mass.
These are mysteries that the global scientific community at CERN have been diligently hunting since 21 October 2008, using the biggest, fastest and most expensive machine ever built - the Large Hadron Collider.
The Mishkan and other strange Bible stories also show DNA structure and DNA replication.
One law shows the structure of the brain and the hormonal functions that control behavior.
When this information becomes public the halls of atheism will be shaken.
I am so confident of this marvelous information that I am placing it in the lessons as fulfillment of certain prophecies.
The Fall of Communism.
The prophecy was given to show the judgment of the harlot. Judgment of the righteous began around 1844.
The prophecy refers to the sixth head in the present tense, as "The one that is" while "the beast is not".
After the papacy fell in judgment in 1798 the sixth head will emerge while it is wounded.
So this time became very important and is the period that is the focus of the prophecy.
From this period in time the angel looks back at the previous five kings and forward to the last.
Why?
That generation must be able to recognize the times.
The angel of that church must be explaining their times to John.
It was the period when God began to merge local fulfillment with the global fulfillment. He does this when an important time period begins or ends.
During the time of the global sixth head, the local sixth head was creating a union that would become the global seventh head.
| Parallel Fulfillment |
| Local | Global |
| # | Year | Pope | Beast | # |
| - | -538 | - | Rome | 4 |
| - | 538-1798 | - | Papacy | 5 |
| - | 1798-1991 | - |
Secular, Atheist, Communist
 | 6 |
| 1 | 1922-1939 | Pius XI |
| Lateran Treaty |
| 2 | 1939-1958 | Pius XII |
| 3 | 1958-1963 | John XXIII |
| 4 | 1963-1978 | Paul VI |
| 5 | 1978-1978 | John Paul 1 |
| 6 | 1978-2005 | John Paul II |
| USA and Papacy | 7 |
| (1981) Babylon the Great |
| 7 | 2005-2013 | Benedict XVI |
| 8 | 2013- | Francis I |
| ? | Unknown popes | Satan | 8 |
The angel described time from this view |
- Local Fulfillment. The sixth global head ceased to exist during the reign of the sixth pope. He cooperated with the United States to form the seventh head for the specific purpose of defeating communism.
- Local Fulfillment. During this period both acted to receive the title of Babylon.
One through control of the land of Iraq and the other through the control of the European Union and its symbols of Babel.
- Global Fulfillment. By the time the United States controlled the land of Iraq in 1992, and physically became Babylon, it had spiritually become Babylon the Great in 1981 because it had united with the church and switched allegiance from Iran to Iraq.
The events of the local fulfillments helped to prepare us to expect and recognize the global fulfillment.
This only helps us to identify the arrival of the final powers and the transition to the seventh head, but it cannot tell us that Satan will arrive during the reign of the eighth pope.
After all the fifth head is not related to the fifth pope.
» Seven Significant Popes.
So why choose 1929 as the point to start counting popes?
1929 could be seen as a type of "placing the abomination of desolation" when the church was healed.
The eighth head is the real abomination of desolation, but sometime during the seventh head his representatives might make the arrangements that will make this possible.
The unjust conquest and devastation of Iraq could be seen as a military abomination of desolation that occurred.
| The Fifth Local Heads |
| Year | President | Pope | - |
| World War II |
| 1945 | - | Harry Truman | 1 | Pius XII | 6 |
| 1953 | - | Dwight Eisenhower |
| 1961 | - | John Kennedy | 2 | John XXIII |
| 1963 | 1 | Lyndon Johnson | 3 | Paul VI |
| 1969 | 2 | Richard Nixon |
| 1974 | 3 | Gerald Ford |
| 1977 | 4 | James Carter |
| 4 | John Paul I |
| 5 | John Paul II |
| 1981 | 5 | Ronald Reagan | 7 |
| (1981) Babylon the Great |
| 1989 | 6 | George H. W. Bush |
| (1991) Iraq Conquered |
| 1993 | 7 | William Clinton |
| 2001 | 8 | George W. Bush | 6 | Benedict XVI |
| (2003) Iraq Destroyed |
| 2009 | 9 | Barack Obama |
| 7 | Francis I |
| ? | Unknown popes and presidents | 8 |
» Seven Significant Presidents?
Is there a significant seven kings for the United States who are responsible for the rise of the Antichrist? Do we count them after we became the seventh head in 1981 or after we became a global superpower in 1948?
The fifth in a series is the one on whom judgment falls. Since the fifth global head received the deadly wound, will the fifth president receive a deadly wound? Does Reagan's wound point to him as the fifth or will another president be wounded?
Does John Paul I's strange death or John Paul II's wound also point to either as the fifth head? Does the fact that the head is wounded and not killed eliminate John Paul I and John Kennedy as local signs?
Does the fact that the local sign shows both the emergence of the seventh global head and the local fifth head, make 1929 an insignificant starting point?
Is World War II and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 the event to start counting local heads?
We could speculate for hours and still be wrong because the sign has already accomplished its purpose.
So I am not saying that there is only one more pope or president. I am confirming from the signs that we are in the reign of the seventh head, the last great persecuting power.
Signs of the Times.
A road sign is meant to just give enough information that will lead you to the destination and cannot contain all the signs and features of the real place.
Similarly, these prophetic signs may point to one significant event that identifies the real fulfillment, but falls apart after that because it cannot contain all the features of the fulfillment.
The wounding of the president and the pope were significant signs to warn us of the complete healing of the fifth beast by an alliance which began the formal emergence of the seventh head of the beast of prophecy.
Perhaps when the eighth head emerges it will be accompanied by its own set of signs.
The Future: Not Yet Come (The Seventh Head).
Seven is the time of rest and it is God's time.
Appropriately, this beast is the one that enforces his false Sabbath worship through the governments of the world.
This is the woman riding the beast.
This is the same period described in Revelation 13.
The beast uses the new lamb beast to control the world.
The seventh head is the return of the Roman church as it seduces the kings of the earth to persecute the remnant people. (Revelation 17: 12-14)
This is the phase described as the time of the head that "will come" and as the beast that "yet is".
The beast that was returns again after it is healed.
Rules A Short Time
The most encouraging statement is that the seventh head will rule a short time.
However, we do not know if this is in relation to the time of supremacy of the other six heads.
Ancient Babylon ruled for seventy years and this was the shortest time of all the heads.
Will Babylon the Great rule for less than seventy years? Their rule started around 1981.
If not, their rule will start with the Latter Rain. They will be the government that rejects clear evidence of God.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 (is) | Gap | 7 | 8 |
| Egypt | Assyria | Babylon | Medo-Persia | Greece | Rome | Papacy | Communism | Babylon the Great | Eighth head (Satan) |
Correct View  | 70 Years | 539BC | Babylon lost power for 2520 years (Seven "Times") | 1981 | Short Time |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 (is) | 7 | 8 |
There are several other theories about the identity of the seven heads.
- Babylon. The heads start with Babylon and are a continuation of the powers seen by Daniel.
The prophecy of Revelation 13 clearly places the seven headed beast as a construct of the beasts of Daniel 7 (Lion, bear, leopard and dragon).
This is the correct view.
But we have a remarkable example of a local fulfillment displaying key elements of a prophecy at the end points of a time period.
| The Eight Heads |
| # | Power | Years | Comment |
| 1 | Babylon | 70 | Captures Israel for 70 years |
| 2 | Medo-Persia | 208 | Rules Israel and the world |
| 3 | Greece | 163 | Rules Israel and the world |
| 4 | Rome | 706 | Rules Israel and the world |
| 5 | Roman Papacy | 1260 | The middle ages | Rome The Great City
Woman Rides Beast |
| 6 | The Woman Is Judged
The Prophecy Explains Time From This View |
| Communism, Atheism, Secularism, Democracy | 191 | When the church lost power after the French Revolution, these philosophies ruled the world |
| 7 | Revived Roman Power and the United States (Babylon the Great) | Short time | Land acquired in the Lateran Treaty. Wound healed and woman rides the beast |
| Land of Iraq controlled after the Gulf War. USA becomes Babylon
|
| Ten Horns Without Power Emerge |
| 8 | Satan | 1 | Satan comes to control the world in a false Second Coming |
Notice that each new power defeats the previous power.
Therefore, it is significant that the fall of communism was the result of the cooperation
between the United States and the Catholic Church.
We are therefore officially in the time of the seventh head when communism fell in 1989 and maybe as early as 1981.
The information for the fall of atheism came in 2008.
|
» The Beginning of the Papacy. When the little horn papacy was placed into power, three of the ten horns were uprooted, then it grew up as the eighth horn on the head of the dragon! It is a type of the eighth head.
» The End of the Papacy. At the end of time, the eighth horn will be associated with the eighth head because the papacy will be the power that introduces it. So the papal eighth horn is a type of the final eighth head.
Perhaps three powers will also be uprooted before Satan appears to make the way clear for his arrival and three powers will also be uprooted before the papacy controls Jerusalem.
- Before The Plagues. By using the pattern of how Rome was cleared for Papal rule, we conclude that the rulers of Jerusalem, and those who attack Jerusalem will be eliminated.
In our climate, the most likely scenario is that Israel will lose control under UN Resolution 181, HAMAS and Hezballah or the two most militant Islamic groups will be eliminated.
- During The Plagues. Satan appears either three weeks before the end of the world or before the beginning of the plagues.
The three powers in Babylon are uprooted by Satan's arrival in the fifth plague, mutiny in the sixth plague and split in the seventh.
- Egypt. The heads start with Egypt. However, this creates a problem with the seventh head lasting for a long time.
This places the sixth head at the time of ancient Rome, which fell around 476.
This would mean that the seventh head has ruled for over 1530 years. This is longer than all the first five heads combined!
Some have speculated that there is another gap in this period where time is not counted.
There is no biblical or rational basis for this fragmentation of time.
- Divisions. Some have counted the four divisions of Greece. However, this leaves us with an inconsistency because the two divisions of the Persian empire are not counted.
This counting of the divisions leaves us with too many heads. Rome would be the eighth head if the Greek divisions are counted and the ninth head if both Greece and Persia are counted.
How long is "a short time"?
In Isaiah 63: 18, Israel lamented that their temple lasted a short time before the enemy destroyed it.
The first temple stood for about 400 years and second temple for about 500 years. So in this case, the short time is in relation to its expected life span. The temple was supposed to last forever.
The Seventh Head is Babylon The Great
This is the combination of the papacy and the United States after it controls ancient Babylon.
The seventh head is also Babylon the Great and the king of the North.
In the old testament, there are several images used to describe this power.
It is further proof that the lamb beast of Revelation 13 has transitioned to the dragon phase.
The behavior is a copy of the charges made against the dragon, Satan.
- I Will Make Myself like the Most High. The religious portion of this power takes the power of God. The military half is the only super power.
- Weakened the Nations. The war on terror may have caused more destabilization. The business practices of western nations have conspired to weaken other nations.
- Makes the Earth Tremble. We are in the process of causing terrorism to spread.
- Indefinite Detention. The powers given under the Patriot Act allow this behavior, just like the medieval system.
Those who see you will gaze at you, they will ponder over you saying, "Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,
who made the world like a wilderness and overthrew its cities,
who did not allow his prisoners to go home?"
(Isaiah 14: 16-17)
As of April 2006, 30% of the "dangerous terrorists" at Guantanamo Bay have been cleared to be released after an investigation.
Some of these have been cleared since December 2004. Yet none of them have left.
Under the Patriot Act or the Powers of the President, even if you have been found not guilty in a criminal trial, they can hold you forever.
They will not let their innocent prisoners go home.
The Eighth Head (The False Second Coming)
The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
(Revelation 17: 11)
Isaiah refers to Satan as the King of Babylon. This is why God defines an eighth head who controls the others.
We know that eight marks the first in another cycle of seven.
The first was Babylon. The eighth is Babylon the Great or the demonic phase of the seventh head that is actually described as one of the seven and not technically a separate kingdom.
This is Satan himself.
He has been alive through out all these kingdoms, orchestrating their moves.
Now, at the end of the world, he makes his final bid for worship.
He is a combination of the forces of the seventh head and works through them.
Technically this is not the succession of a new empire.
The beast only has seven heads. Seven successions.
But at some time during the short life span of the seventh head, it receives direct assistance from Satan so that it
can only be described as "an eighth head which is one of the seven".
To make this phrase even more accurate, the revived fifth head becomes part of this union.
We know it is Satan because the description is that it is an eighth head but it was really a part of the seven heads.
The Church is the only world power that has existed continuously for a long time, but even the church was not in existence during the time of the first three heads
(Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece). Daniel calls the entire series of empires transgressors
who desolated the sanctuary. Satan has been using all these powers to destroy God.
He was most successful when he tried to defeat God from within the church.
The Three Phases of Satan. Just like the succession of beasts that it ruled, Satan also has a series of phases that are similar.
It represents his three phases as ruler of the planet.
Notice that he never gets back to the phase where he "is".
The third phase of the beast is destruction after a short existence.
And, the third phase of Satan is destruction after a short existence as the eighth head.
Technically, the phase where "he is", is his control through the seven heads.
Specifically, it is the phase after he lost dominion of the world after the crucifixion when he must control through those whom Christ has allowed him to rule.
This is the entire phase of the papacy, who mirrors this same three phased dominion.
| » | Was | Is Not | Goes to Destruction |
| Satan replaced Adam as our leader | After the crucifixion Christ represents us |
Plagues | Millennium | Hell Fire |
| Babylon | Medo-Persia | Greece | Rome | Papacy | Communism | Babylon the Great | Satan |
| » | The Three Phases of the Papacy  | Was | Is Not | Yet is (Will Come) |
| » | Was | Babylon Is Not | Babylon will come |
| Satan rules the seven empires and is "of the seven" | He is the Eighth |
Although Babylon follows the pattern of three phases (was, is not and will come), it is not the primary fulfillment of that verse. The papacy is.
The power that fulfills this requirement came after five fallen heads.
However, it is interesting to notice that Satan, the papacy and Babylon the great all go through these three phases.
It is also interesting that the only two powers that destroyed the Jewish temple (Babylon and Rome) return under new management in the end to try to destroy the people of God again.
The Strong Delusion.
For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
(2 Thessalonians 2: 11-12)
The False Christ.
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. "Look, I have told you in advance. "So if they say to you, "Look, He is in the wilderness, do not go out, or, "Look, He is in the inner rooms, do not believe them. "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
(Matthew 24: 24-27)
Was, Is Not, Yet Is.
When the last important figure arises who is directly responsible for installing the abominable forces, he or she may be good or evil.
However, the symbols of prophecy require that they must have this pattern to their career.
They were in power, lost power and rose to power again.
In some way a man named George Bush repeated this pattern. He was in power, then lost to Bill Clinton and another George Bush rose to power again, continuing the war with Iraq that was waged by his father.
These are local signs that we are in the era of the fulfillment.
Other Prophecies About The Eighth Head
The coming of the eighth head is mentioned in other prophecies and in the law and is explained in more detail here.
- Antichrist. A human representative who will pave the way for the eighth head.
- The Presentation of the Scapegoat. On the day of atonement both the Lord's Goat and the scapegoat must be presented alive before the people in Jerusalem. Jesus appeared at the beginning of the day and Satan will appear at the end of this great day in time for his banishment.
- Image to the Beast. The seventh head will give life to an image that is worshipped as God. Jesus Christ is the only image of God that can be worshipped. The Antichrist comes in the form of an image that forces the world to worship him.
- The Beast from the Abyss. Satan will come out of the abyss to deceive the world in person.
Possible Signs of the Eighth Head.
The control of Jerusalem by Babylon the Great or the nations with the establishment of religion will be the single most important sign.
The Ten Kings
| Possible Candidates |
| # | Western | Eastern |
| Left Foot | Right Foot |
| 1 | France | Turkey |
| 2 | Germany | Iran |
| 3 | Italy | Egypt |
| 4 | England | Iraq |
| 5 | Spain | Libya |
| The list was developed based on current strength and the prophecies of Daniel 11: 41-45 |
And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength to the beast. These shall make 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.
(Revelation 17: 12-14)
Although the prophecies of Daniel show ten horns which were reduced to seven when the papacy came to power,
we find that at the end of time ten kings appear again.
The image of Daniel 2 indicates that ten strong divisions will be prominent among the broken nations of Europe at the Second Coming.
This is an example of the pattern of symbols that God chooses.
These symbolic signs usually appear at the beginning and end of a prophecy so that the
generations that are alive at their formation and termination might recognize the signs.
Ten divisions were present to indicate the beginning of the papal empire.
Ten divisions will once again be present at its defeat.
The ten toes served both purposes.
The European Union has over twenty member nations, which nations will they be?
Should we only look at the European part or all the physical nations from the original Roman empire?
And just as each leg has five toes, should we expect that there will be five nations from each division?
Whenever this final ten emerge, it must not violate the prophecy of Daniel 2.
This is that the nations of the old Roman empire will not cleave to one another.
The ten kings must act with one goal, but only as independent nations, not one nation.
Distribution Of The Ten Horns.
The bible does not make an issue of where these horns are located, but this is our best guess.
The ten horns emerge during the fourth kingdom. Therefore, the horns are not on the first three heads.
- Pagan Rome (Fourth Head) - Seven Horns. When the beast originally emerged it had ten horns, but three horns were removed to make way for the powerful little horn. So it now has seven horns.
- Papal Rome (Fifth Head) - One Horn. This is the little horn who became a head after removing three horns.
- Atheism (Sixth Head) - No Horns. We will make our case that the last two horns are on the seventh head below.
| Other Candidates |
| # | Nation | Power |
| 1a | Security Council | Global military |
| 1b | NATO | Western powers military |
| 2 | Europe | European Union |
| 3 | G-8 nations | Economic leaders |
| 4 | Military Contractors | Expertise |
| 5 | UN economic regions | 10 proposed economic divisions |
| 6 | The Quartet | USA, Russia, EU, UN |
| The list is some of the candidates mentioned. I discount the power of the leaders under the ten economic divisions of the world. |
- Babylon the Great (Seventh Head) - Two Horns. In Revelation 13, the prophecy enlarges these powers and described two separate beasts, the beast with ten horns and the lamb with two horns.
Just as Revelation 17 enlarges on the powers by showing the beast with ten horns as both the beast and a woman riding this beast,
Revelation 13 shows the powers as the beast, and a lamb who acts like a dragon.
This lamb has two horns and it is the seventh head. Therefore, when this seventh head emerges, the entire beast will once again have ten horns.
European Alliance. During this time, the ten horns receive power for one hour.
This is approximately two weeks in real time.
This time, Satan directly recruits the state.
This is probably when they decide to give their power to the church - because the events they are experiencing are clearly
about religious matters.
According to Revelation 17: 17 God has put it in their heart to give their kingdom to the beast so that His will can be accomplished.
So, in summary, these are some possible significant groups.
The Destruction Of The Great Whore And The Beast
| A Heirarchy of Control Freaks |
| Seven Mountains |
The Eighth Head  |
Satan
 | The Seventh Head  |
Beast (State)
 |
Woman (Church)  |
Controls the kings of the world |
Lamb Beast |
Ten Kings  |
| Control the world |
And he said to me, the waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
For God has put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
And the woman which you saw is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.
(Revelation 17: 15-18)
In verses 16 -17, we see the ten horns or ten kings, give their power to the Beast, just as stated in verses 12-13. So, it appears that before the final battle when the Beast and the ten kings make war with the Lamb, and are defeated, that the ten kings will rebel against the Great Harlot, and will kill her.
This begins the punishment of the harlot.
- Covet the Property of God (Stoning and Burning). Achan and his family and possessions were stoned and then burnt by fire.
They had coveted and stolen items that were dedicated to God.
... And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
(Joshua 7: 25)
The earth will be stoned at the Second Coming and burned with fire at the Third Coming because the prostitute and her mentor coveted the throne of God.
- Prostitution (Burning). The punishment was burning with fire for a daughter of the priest. This is the harlot.
And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by harlotry, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.
(Leviticus 21: 9)
The Fall Of Babylon The Great
When Babylon falls, it is split up into three parts. These are the church, the state and the ungodly forces.
But within each of these systems, there will probably be internal turmoil and conflicts that rip them apart into three distinct pieces.
Babylon the Great will not be at peace.
- Economic ("Rich, Middle Class, Poor"). Meager resources will be unequally distributed between these groups.
- Race ("White, Brown, Black"). People will resort to race and class warfare as resources dwindle.
- Political ("Rich, Middle Class, Poor"). The party of the rich and business men versus the party of the poor and disenfranchised. The middle class will be fighting to maintain what they have.
- Geographical ("North and South" or "Red and Blue States"). Countries will be split by regional conflicts between warring factions. It is entirely possible that the United States will see internal conflicts worse than the civil war while it is involved in international warfare.
- Religious ("Catholic, Other Religions, Pagan"). In the end, the unity that they negotiated will disintegrate into separate factions as personal beliefs override attempts to force conformity.
All of this occurs as they are trying to conduct the greatest persecution on the face of the planet.
As their problems escalate they turn against the righteous and against each other, just as Hitler tried to destroy the German people when he knew that the war was lost.
Repetition and Enlargement
The Seven Nations Surrounding Ancient Israel
This global experience is repeated in the experience of Israel.
God slowly cleared away seven nations before Israel could take complete possession of the Promised Land.
This models the seven heads that He removes from the earth before the Second Coming.
When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you,
the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites,
seven nations greater and stronger than you.
And when the Lord your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them.
You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them.
The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little;
you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts will grow too numerous for you.
(Deuteronomy 7: 1-2, 22)
| Comment | Deuteronomy 7 (Seven Nations) | Revelation (Seven Heads) |
| The exodus from slavery to peace involves the removal of seven mighty nations | 1, 22 | Seven nations were removed | 13:1 | Seven heads are seven series of mighty powers |
| Israel is threatened by wild beasts | 22 | Trouble from wild beasts is controlled | 13 | Symbol used in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. Israel encounters these beast nations one by one |
| A warning about joining with these nations | 1 | Make no covenant with them | 13 | The beast tries to change the covenant and force the world to submit |
| God destroys their false gods and false system of worship | 5 | False sanctuary destroyed | 16 | Seven last plagues destroys the sanctuary |
| 10 | Enemies destroyed | 18 | Babylon is repaid double |
| The nations will cause us to become harlots and immoral | 3-4 | Harlot | 18: 5 | Babylon is the mother of harlots |
| The last power is described as a place of confusion | 23 | Thrown into confusion | 18 | Babylon means confusion |
| He will keep this covenant for one thousand generations | 9 | One thousand generations for twelve tribes of sons. | 14 | 144,000. Twelve tribes of 12,000 |
| The result will be a place of peace for the holy people | 13-18 | Blessings | 21-22 | In Heaven there is no more curse |
The Seven Last Nations Surrounding The Children Of God
The great harlot is the beast of Revelation 13 and the little horn.
Revelation 18 finally shows all the political or civil powers as different stages or heads of this
gigantic beast and it shows the religious power as a prostitute who is controlling the beast.
Satan is the long-lived civil government who controls the earthly governments in order to gain religious worship.
To do this, he tries to destroy the church set up by God using pagan governments who worship him.
When he does not achieve lasting success at this, he infiltrates the church of God to corrupt it and teach it
to worship him.
| The Great Harlot | The Beast | The Beast | The Little Horn, Tree |
| Revelation 17 | Revelation 13 | Revelation 12 | Daniel 4, 7, 8 |
| Woman sitting on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns | Beast with seven heads and ten horns with crowns merges with the mixed beast (lion, bear, leopard) | Beast with seven heads and ten horns with crowns | Beast with ten horns, Little horn. Lion, bear, leopard |
| Religious | Is worshipped | - | Claimed religious authority |
| Church and state. Union with the kings of the world | Was given its power by Rome | - | Mighty but not by its own power |
| Influences nations | All the world admired the beast | Deceives the world |
| Great city with global influence | Global religion | - |
| Lasted 1260 years | Lasted 1260 years | 1260 years | Lasted 1260 years |
| Claims authority like God | Sets up worship for himself | - | Magnified himself to Christ |
| Blasphemy | Blasphemy | - | Mouth speaks great things |
| Wine - immoral, apostasy, lawless | Enforces the mark of the beast | - | Changes times and laws |
| Written on her forehead | 666 (Mark on the forehead) | - | - |
| United States | Lamb with two horns | Earth helped the woman | - |
| Mother of harlots | Other powers obey, blaspheme | - | - |
| Persecutes | Persecutes the remnant | Persecutes the child, woman and remnant | Made war with the saints |
| Was, is not and will come | Deadly wound that was healed | - | Stump Revived |
The Seven Heads
| The Divisions of the Seven for Judgment |
| # | Church | Seal | Trumpet | Plagues | Empires |
| 1-4 | Shepherd | Horsemen | Judgment | People | First four |
| 5-7 | The Last Three Under Severe Judgment |
| Sheep | Wrath | 3 Woes | Leaders | Last three |
4 Empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Pagan Rome
3 Empires: Papacy, Papacy fallen, Papacy revived
|
|
In Daniel 2, the powers were symbolized as four empires and a shattered empire. Now, in an enlargement, the empires are seen as seven world powers who are taken over by Satan in the end.
How do we reconcile the accounting of the kingdoms in the vision of Daniel to John.
In all other prophecies that have a series of seven, the objects are divided into four and three.
- The First Four Empires. The first four are seen as separate groups.
- The Last Three Empires. The last three are seen as a related group. Here we see that the last three empires are the shattered kingdoms of the feet of clay.
The shattering begins with the fifth kingdom, the one that is judged.
The other prophecies show how these three are related. They are the three phases of the papacy.
- Papal Rome ("was") Healthy. The powerful church ruling the states.
- Papal Rome Fallen ("is not") Wounded. This period includes the powers that filled the vacuum while Rome lost its influence, or the period can be seen as the activities of the church with reduced power.
- Papal Rome Revived ("will come") Healed. A final attempt to rule the world.
| # | Power | Daniel 2 | Daniel 4 | Daniel 7 | Daniel 8 | Daniel 11 | Revelation 12-13 | Revelation 17 |
| Metal man | Tree | Wild beasts | Sanctuary | Covenant | Composite Beasts and the Dragon |
| 1 | Babylon | Head of gold | Fruit, leaf | Lion | - | - | Mouth of a lion | First head | Five Fallen
(Beast was) |
| 2 | Medo-Persia | Chest of silver | Stump, Axe | Bear | Ram | War after 4 Persian kings | Feet of a bear | Second head |
| Two Arms | Two sides - one higher | Two Horns - one higher |
| 3 | Greece | Belly and thighs of brass | Brass band | Leopard | Goat | Mighty king | Body of a leopard | Third head |
| Four heads | Four horns | Four points |
| 4 | Rome (pagan) | Legs of iron | Iron band | Terrible beast | Little horn: Horizontal | Oppressor | Dragon | Fourth head |
| 5 | Rome (papal) | Little horn | Little horn: Vertical | Abomination of desolation | Beast (7 heads) | Fifth head | Whore |
| Europe | Ten toes | Roots in clay | Ten horns | Transgressors Finish | Ten horns | Ten horns |
| 6 | Atheism | Shattered Kingdom | Extension of Life | Exalted above God | (Wounded) | Sixth head | Beast is not |
| 7 | USA | Revived | Little Horn Boasts | Insolent King | King of the north | Lamb beast | Babylon the Great (Seventh Head) | Beast is (is to come) |
| Papacy | Beast and Image (Healed) |
| 8 | Satan | Eighth head | One of the 7 |
| God | Rock | Holy Ones | Judgment | Cleansed | Michael | God comes with an army |
|
Study to show yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2: 15
|
Time: 150 minutes Print: 22 pages |
Copyright
Updated : July 2009
Credits:
Author: Laverna Patterson. Editor: Patterson (January 2008)
See our reference page.
All images except the Babel buildings, statue, and coin were created by Laverna Patterson and are the property of teachinghearts.
|