THE INTERPRETATION OF THE VISION OF THE GREAT WHORE # 58

The Interpretation of the Vision of the Great Whore #58

 

“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.”  (Revelation 17:7).

John was asked why he marveled at the sight of the woman and the beast that carried her. He was told he would be given understanding of their meaning. In the explanation, ten verses (8-17) are given to the beast and only one to the woman (18).

 “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.”  (Revelation 17:8).

Most of the disagreement in interpreting Revelation is over the identity of this beast. Many confuse it with the man who is the Antichrist. As pointed out earlier, there are many different beasts in Scripture. In Genesis 1:24 God called for the earth to bring forth “beasts” after its kind. This speaks of the animal kingdom.  In Genesis 7 we are introduced to the fact that there were clean and unclean beasts.

In Daniel’s vision we see that kings of the earth and their kingdoms are classified as “beasts”. (See Daniel 7:5-7). In Revelation 4:7 the four living creatures around the throne of God are classified as beasts. In 11:7 a beast comes out of the pit; in 13:1 a beast rises up out of the sea; in 13:11 another beast comes up out of the earth; in 16:10 there is the kingdom of the beast; in 17:3 there is a scarlet colored beast which supports the great city, Babylon. In 17:8 the beast “was” and “is not” and shall come from the “bottomless pit” and be cast into “perdition.” This beast, in this context we believe, is the prince of Greece, as stated earlier.  The word “perdition” means destruction and nothing more.

In verse 11, the eighth beast, which is the Antichrist, is a man who also goes into perdition. We know where he goes and what his perdition is by looking at Revelation 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”  This is their perdition or destruction.

  “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.  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 the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.”  (Revelation 17:9-11).

First, we are told that the seven heads on the beast are seven mountains. These are not literal mountains, but are seven kings with their kingdoms, which were contemporary with Israel’s history and practiced the corrupt religion of Babylon.

Mountains, in the Bible, are often called kingdoms. Nebuchadnezzar was spoken of as a “destroying mountain” (Jeremiah 51:25). When Jesus returns at the Second Advent, His Kingdom will be called a mountain. “Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). (See also Isa. 2:2.) It should be remembered that the woman was sitting on the beast whose seven heads consisted of the seven kings, each of which is designated a mountain, and she was on each mountain as soon it came became a kingdom. Satan and the beast kingdoms, and the woman are blended into one system.

Five of the previous kings with their kingdoms had fallen. We believe these five are:

1. Egypt
2. Assyria
3. Babylon
4. Medo-Persia
5. Greece

       John said, “One is.” Rome was the sixth empire to oppress Israel in the times of the Gentiles and is the 4th empire in the book of Daniel. It is symbolized in Daniel as the legs of iron (Daniel 2:33, 40), the non-descript beast (Daniel 7:7-8, 23-24), and the 6th head on the beast in Revelation 17:9-17. Rome oppressed Israel over 200 years and dispersed the Jews in A.D. 70 (Daniel 9:26-27; Matthew 24:1-3; Luke 21:20-24). It is from the old Roman territory that the next two kingdoms will arise.

  “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. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.”   (Revelation 17:12-13).

       The kingdom, which “was not”, is the seventh and will be revised Rome, and will oppress Israel in the end times of the Gentiles. It will be made up of ten kingdoms inside the territory of the old Roman Empire. It is revised, not revived. Ten kings will rule these kingdoms, with ten separate capitals formed inside the Roman Empire territory. This is symbolized in Daniel by the ten toes (Daniel 2:40-45) and ten horns (Daniel 7:7-8, 19-24), and by ten horns in Revelation 12:3; 13:1; 17:9-17.

The ten were not in John’s day, but will form a kingdom in the first half of the Tribulation. Out of these ten the Antichrist will arise. They will give their authority and kingdoms to his leadership, willingly, or by force.

The ten reigned before the Antichrist ever came on the scene. Their kingdoms, without him, formed the seventh. His will become the eighth.

  “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 17:14).

       These ten, with the Antichrist, fight against the Lamb of God at His Second Advent and are handily defeated. (Psalm 2.) They that are with Christ are those who were called, chosen, and faithful in the Day of the Lord.

 “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.  And the ten horns which thou sawest 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 hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”  (Revelation 17:15-18).

       The ten kings, with the Antichrist, will hate the parasite city, Babylon, and will plunder and sack it. Afterwards, they will destroy it by fire. It was God’s will that it be destroyed. He found willing subjects to execute his will. Satan, no doubt, motivated them to destroy Babylon. The reaction of the kings of the earth, who profited from her wealth and enjoyed her corrupt religion, wail over her destruction. This is described in chapter 18.