REVELATION 17:3
“And there are seven kings; five have fallen; one is here now; one more is on his way: he must remain for a short time; then the one who is the eighth must come and enter into perdition…”
The Big question is, who is the 8th King of Israel, ultimately the world at war? We can identify this King and what he represents, also his persona and motives, and his ultimate deceptive quest to be King of the Universe. He has been called various names, Lucifer, The Beast, 666, the Accuser of the Brethren, the Man of Sin, Appolyon or Destroyer, the King of Tyre, the Devil, Angel of Light…
Mark One:
One bloodline in all Beasts
This Biblical theory is both prophetic, speculative, non-fictional, and controversial based on the writings of Holy Scripture as a springboard.
You will discover that the Beast of Revelation 13, 17, 19, is related to Daniel 7 and 9. all are from the same blood line or family group, have a spiritually negative ancestral line and are waiting right now to reappear on the stage of the end times set, to perform the final Act before a dramatic new beginning.
666 Calculating the name or number of the beast.
Mark Two: King of Israel:
You will also discover that the Beast of Revelation will not be ‘World dominion’ founded but rather quite a big-fry in a small pan. His entrance will be devastating for the world.
Mark Three: House of Herod:
You will also enjoy peering into the well of information about prophecies that directly relate to the Herod Dynasty and its kings and their impudent exploits to destroy even a small baby in order to prevent YOU from entering a glorious kingdom, where this beast will never set foot.
Mark Four: Josephus’ Beast
The book of Josephus (2) gives us a first century insight into what was happening in the area surrounding the ruling kingdoms in Samaria, Galilee, Israel, including Rome and Egypt.
We will delve into what part the Herodian Dynasty has played already in this game of ‘Power and Dominion at any cost’ and what this bloodline will play in the end times, when the Beast of Revelation is exposed.
We ask the question: is it possible that another Herod will rise from the ashes and rule in the spiritual capital of the world? This book will give you insights into this profound possibility.
Your world:
God has a plan for the world and for the people he adores. This is also about you and the decisions you make towards your final destiny.
Diamond Analogy:
Every diamond has many facets, so with the Beast, it has many faces, faces of dreadful beasts, shining creatures; faces filled with extreme darkness that will consume its lovers for all eternity. Just as a diamond engages, amuses, enchants and devours our longings, so this beast can devour every longing of your heart and crush your spirit into oblivion.
Mark Five:John’s Beast
THE BEAST as depicted by the Apostle John
The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. [Rev 17:8 NIV]
This is what he saw:
I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names.
This is a first person experience of encounter in this vision, the truth of who the beast really is, his devastating form and his purposes are becoming clearer by the moment. Read it again to get the picture. I will include a picture of what I think is the way the beast appeared to John.
The Apostle John was given the privilege of seeing Jesus, and now he sees the formidable foe as well. John says that the beast once was. In other words, the beast originally was alive, existed, was visible and actually seen by human beings, as you will find out further down this document.
The second part of [Revelation 13:1], the beast was not around, not visible, not alive or existing in a visible form.
The third part of the verse is the most frightening. The beast will come up from the Abyss and go to destruction. This is a copy of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, in case you hadn’t noticed.
The part we must be concerned with is the interval between coming up from the Abyss [very depths of underground] and going to destruction. What must happen in between these two events is likely to be so terrible that God has to intervene and destroy this beast absolutely, and God is up for it too. He sure is.
The last statement in this verse is:
“...And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement - all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world--when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come.” At that point in time the Beast will have arrived!
Are you one of these, people who look in awe at the exotic, extreme, and flamboyant, miracle workers, magicians? This kind of ‘wonder’ or awe is similar to what we can see in documentaries about people who supported Hitler. It is a massive undergirding of fear, cupped into a huge bowl of amazing things that makes vulnerable people wonder.
Just like at the time of Hitler, many were caught up with the frenzy of the moment, people who have not been written in the book of life will be astonished, shake their heads and just wait, until it is too late to run for it. Warning: do not get caught out. Listen to the spirit speaking to your heart and change your ways if you must. Just do it today.
Jesus Christ gave us many warnings about times like these. He instructed us to be alert, understanding what is going on. He taught his disciples to be watchful, to be cautious, and to speak when the Holy Spirit gives us words. We are to use all our senses including our spiritual insights and instincts to guard against this type of trickery and wonder that will lead to our own demise, our destruction: eventually finding ourselves in the lake of fire, a place you do not want to go anywhere near. It will be hot as hell! Read chapter 24 of Matthew to get a good feel of what will happen around that time.
2 Thessalonians 2:7 says: For the secret of evil is even now at work: but there is one who is keeping back the evil till he is taken out of the way [Basic English translation]
Just an aside here, have you ever wondered why there is still so much evil in the world, murders, vice, bad language abounding, greed, wars, etc? You know what, the other day I heard a little child of about two and a half years old, swearing at his sister. Using a word I would not even type here. What will this child be saying in ten or twenty years time? Why is evil forever pushing at us?
Well, here is your answer. It is a mystery that will be revealed and exterminated when the prince of Evil, the Devil, is revealed for who He is and what he is about. This is the underbelly of spirituality. The evil one is already working hard to undermine goodness, righteousness, kindness, fairness, honesty and everything that God Almighty has put in its place on earth. Learn who Jesus Christ is, if you are not sure about Him. Begin your life anew by asking The Lord Almighty, God of the Holy Bible, about this and listening to the Holy Spirit because God is ONE and not two, but He has revealed Himself in three special ways so that we can understand Him better. There is no three-headed god because the Bible says over and over that God is One.
In reference to 2 Thessalonians 2:7 quoted just above, some people believe that at this point the Church will be removed and evil will be rampant. I urge you to read this verse in several translations and find out what God is saying here. Don’t just listen to one person whose views you like, but find out the truth for yourself. What is discussed and shared between you and the Holy Spirit is the way to go and what is ultimately best for you. If you are not sure how to get to know God, turn to your Bible, the Gospel of John, Chapter 3. Read it and listen to the spirit speaking to your heart. Read the whole chapter if you feel that you are honestly seeking God. You will be amazed and delighted at God’s response. You can also read Romans Chapter 3, just to top off your instant knowledge and understanding of real spirituality. If you need any more insight, send me an email or visit an Evangelical Church in your town.
If we read a little further into this chapter we will find that Jesus Christ will remove the beast with his personal arrival, dealing with ‘it’ in a dramatic way. But, the truth is, the king of evil will be heading out the door, down south, or just whisked away. In fact, He will be destroyed by the brightness of Jesus’ coming, [2 Thessalonians 2:8].
If you remain an unbeliever until that day, then your leader will be defeated and destroyed, his body thrown alive into the burning lake of fire. What a dramatic end to this terrible traitor who has sent many souls into damnation?
This is the picture of Jesus Christ when he comes to make war on the Beast and the beast’s supporters:
His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.
Because God is gracious, I believe that the removal of this evil being will give people a slender moment to reconsider their ways, now that their leader is gone. But, will they be tarnished to the point that they cannot repent? This is a question only each soul can answer for themselves. I believe it will also be a time when all of our evil deeds will be uncovered. It may be likened to supporting someone unbeknownst to oneself and then to find out that this person was utterly evil. I am sure you know of people who have fallen for the wrong type of person and lived to regret it!
Should you be faithful to this being? I say to you now, don’t keep on cursing and doing what your leader has done but call on the name of Jesus and gain everlasting life. God is just a word away. Today you can feel the evil arising, terrorists, rapists, intelligently developing evil everywhere. We do not feel as safe as we used to maybe thirty years ago. Even some of our movies are heavily tainted with gross evil, evil that will penetrate into hearts if we are not careful. We must resist evil at all costs and the Devil will rush away from us.
Once the evil leader is diminished there will be a time of terror for all who love God and for all who do not love God. Let’s back up a bit and take a look at this terrifying beast. What will he be like?
He will be famous!
A celebrity, someone who is known in upper circles. Someone who loves to boast about himself to the point of ad-nauseam. He will be like Herod Agrippa 1, in Acts 12:23 who was eaten by worms and died when people proclaimed he was a god and not a man.
I don’t think the average Aussie will like him very much. We have a tendency to dislike folk who boast without knowledge or understanding. But then again, we always want to give everyone a fair go, so maybe this man will get past the road-blocks of our culture.
Interesting Beast
The man of sin will be very interesting, performing miracles, bringing fire down from heaven to enchant his onlookers. He will be spectacular and many will be hooked onto his line and simply bated into hellfire with him. He will have his lackey, or body-guard beside him. His soul-mate? Certainly it is someone who adores him very much.
Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. Notice that his looks are deceptive. Can you imagine a little bleating lamb speaking like a dragon? This shows his utter deception about his work and who he stands for. The next verse gives us more clues as to the power of the lamb-like dragon creature, who is of course, represented by a man.
He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.
This man could be called ‘the enforcer.’ He goes from bad to worse as he gains the power of the people behind him.
And he does great signs, just like his hero the superior beast, even making fire come down from heaven on the earth before the eyes of men. So, we see that this ‘enforcer’ is the first beast’s right hand man. He imitates someone like the Apostle Peter, or Paul, or even John the Baptist. Do not be deceived by this man, who may be called a ‘prophet’ or a ‘miracle worker’. Shun and run, is my advice to you. Run as far away from this man as possible. Remember, he speaks like a little lamb, and he seems to be giving credit to someone else, [the big Beastie] and he is smooth as butter, cream or anything nice you can think of. Beware of this man. You will know him because he wants glory for another, he wants an image to be set up for his beloved master. This era is famous for big billboards, covers for musicians, singers and speakers. It would not seem strange if these figures moved, would it? We already know it is possible to show a holograph of someone who is not there at all. Living in an electronic “Light” era will make this person’s work easier to imitate someone or something else.
We could think of this coming era as:
“Supernatural Spying Era”
He also wants power to do his own will and to get YOU to do his will and the will of his master, who is under cover for Satan himself, and who will actually become possessed by the Father of lies, the first murderer and deceiver of men, Lucifer, Satan, or the Devil, whatever you want to call him. This sweet 'lamb' type man is dangerous. Take note of the signs in Scripture to help you, and do not be afraid of these people because they are already condemned and doomed.
It will be a time of testing for the world we live in. If we lived through WW11 - and some folk have done just that - Congratulations if you are one of those people or if you have a family member who was a survivor and you listened to that person. You did very well.
Remember this is a spiritual as well as a physical war.
Satan against Jesus Christ
This evil group will be heavily supported by demonic troops.
Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
In this verse you can see that there are three characters, the Dragon [Serpent or Devil], the beast [Herod’s progeny] and the false prophet or ‘enforcer’
This trio is trying to imitate the great I Am, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which are the ways in which God has chosen to reveal Himself to his human creations, you and me.
The Ultimate Battle:
Since the dawn of time, there has been a spiritual warfare going on in the world and in the spiritual realm. At the end of time, there will be the Mother of all battles, and it will take place at Armageddon.
And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon. [This region is between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Ocean] The dramatic battle of Armageddon as it is called will be also like the flood of Noah, when everyone was washed away except those few on the ark. It will be so bad the Lord will cut it off at some point, to stop absolute destruction of the people on earth. The point of his sword in the heart of the Devil might be that very moment in time.
Mark Six: Historical Beasts
Let us pause for a moment and look at the destroyers of history, including one recent destroyer, Hitler. From history, we surely understand the terrible devastations these beasts cause on earth. Their aim seems to be total rule, total oppression of peoples, total authority over others. A rule by fear, punishment and annihilation. Recently I saw a documentary on Hitler’s war and I was struck by the awe and fear surrounding the people who stood waiting for him to say a word. Absolute fear of their own lives and fear not to give their lives to a maniac, a murderer, a madman and his mad bodyguards, [prophets]. Mad is the only way to describe the people who even thought of supporting such a beast. All of these men were also cowards and idiots who thought they could get away with anything they wanted. Unfortunately they did devastate the world in a shocking manner and scars have remained in hearts and lands ever since. Even as I write it is incomprehensible to understand the mindset of such people. They became almost inhumane, killing at will, destroying cities, towns and communities at will, bringing in a terrible darkness to our beautiful world, created for enjoyment by God Almighty. If we think of the dreadful demons that will be released as we progress into evil things, it is very scary. Surely these madmen were possessed with such horrible creatures that kill, hate and torture simple and honest souls? Yet, we know this happens and will happen again because man seeks sinful things, embraces hatred and jealousy and allows demons to possess him or her.
The beast will be even more destructive than any despot or arrogant ruler before, so destructive, mad, insane, terrible, murderous and horrible that God will have to come down from heaven to stop the slaughter and the ruin of His world. The Apostle John had a view of this beast in Revelation 17:8: [also in first few pages here]
Daniel, the godly prophet during the Babylonian exile, [500BCc] describes this beast in his own words in Daniel 7:7:
"After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast--terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.” Many see this as the Roman Empire, which had some of these traits, but the final beast will be a hell of a lot worse than the Roman Emperors.
Right throughout Scripture there are references made to formidable beasts. Beasts who rage, who love power, glory and who are always working in opposition to God’s truth, righteousness and God’s followers. Some of the prophetic book have interesting descriptions of rulers:
Kings Likened to Beasts:
Listen to how the King of Egypt is described:
“Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and say to him: Thou art like the lion of the nations, and the dragon that is in the sea: and thou didst push with the horn in thy rivers, and didst trouble the waters with thy feet, and didst trample upon their streams [Douay-Rheims].
Note the descriptions of this King: he is like a dragon or a Loch Ness Monster. He is someone that makes people afraid, terrorised, and who does not care about who he flattens in order to get superiority.
We can learn from this passage not to trample others on our way up, otherwise we will have a great fall at a later date. Just like the nursery rhyme, “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, could not put Humpty together again.” (Colchester 1648 political rhyme about a canon and a wall.) In other words, nothing can save a whole town if the wrong values are inside.
Here’s a verse that speaks about Pharaoh of Egypt in Ezekiel:
Speak to him and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says, “I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great monster lying among your streams. You say, "The Nile is mine; I made it for myself.”'
Let us note that here this king thinks he had made the River Nile. How preposterous that is, delusional even. How arrogant against His creator, God Almighty, who spoke and everything came into place.
I remember talking to a little girl in our neighbourhood. She was busily climbing a tree in her garden, next door to where we lived at the time. I said to her, “God gave you great ability to climb that tree.”
I was quite surprised at her reply. “I did it.”
Here was a girl of around five years of age, denying that God had given her the ability to climb a tree. I shudder to think what she might be doing today and hope she found repentance in her heart as well. But we can all think too highly of ourselves, so we need to be reminded that we are creatures of a fallen nature but with great potential because we are made in the image of God. God will not spare our abilities or our achievements, as long as we keep God as our focus and give Him the credit due to Him.
Mark Seven Daniel’s Beasts
What about the beasts in Daniel?
After this I saw, and behold, another, like a leopard, and it had four wings of a bird upon its back; and the beast had four heads; and dominion was given to it.
This vision is considered to be the Macedonian or Greek Empire The angelic interpretation of Daniel’s dream starts in Daniel 7:17. Briefly, there are four kingdoms predicted to appear on earth, followed by ten kings, who could be called the Decemviri.
(Ancient Roman Council)
Another king will arise and subdue three kings and be very boastful against God and God’s people. History tells us that these kingdoms have already come to pass. We could sum these kingdoms up in Assyrian, Babylonian and Macedonian kingdoms, which covered the whole known earth during their respective reigns. The Roman kingdom is the fourth kingdom. After that it is diminished into ten rulers and finally one primary king. This king, or very powerful ruler is what we will be looking into.
If we take a look at the Roman Empire, there were many kings, one after another and eight are known in history. See above links.
Now what about the House of Herod, how many beasts can we spot in this dynasty and what is predicted about them?
Mark Eight: Kings of Rome
House of Herod
Moving into New Testament era
The Herodian Dynasty began with King Herod the Great, called King of the Jews. His reigning power was from 37 BCE – 4BC. There has been much written about Herod the Great and you can find lots of interesting information online.
The Dynasty remained in power through his successors. The last to reign was Agrippa 11, who was the great-grandson of Herod the Great. The dynasty expired in 92 AD when Herod Agrippa 11 died. The Herodian dynasty produced rulers for 129 years in total.
Josephus’ history about Herod:
Most of our history about this dynasty comes from the Jewish Historian, Flavius Josephus (AD. 37 – c 100) and his book called The Works of Josephus.(2) It is a heavy book to read and even to hold, with small print as well, so it’s a miracle if someone gets through that book. I have read most of it, at various times over the past ten years. It is so interesting that it serves well as a reference for many different studies and supports the Scriptures very well. Buy one for your library. You can find the details at the end of this document or by searching online.
Briefly, Josephus was born into a priestly family and was a Pharisee in his religious denomination. He led a contingency against the Romans in Galilee but surrendered at Jotapata [AD 67]. He was taken prisoner but later freed and endeavoured to get the Jews to surrender to Titus in 70AD, but was unsuccessful and the city fell to the Romans and was razed.(2) He returned to Rome and began writing the Wars of the Jews.(2) We can see that Josephus has mountains of information about the Jewish history from the creation, 4000BC to around 70 AD. Incidentally, a daughter of Josephus married into the Herodian family.(6)
In our study we will be concentrating quite a bit upon the final book of the Bible, which is called ‘Revelation’. Here is information for those who don’t already know about its origins.
Book of Revelation:
Most scholars agree that this book was written before either, 70AD [the fall of Jerusalem] and 96AD [End of Domitian’s Reign](4)
Revelation 17:8 gives us a wider picture of the beast and his purposes:
The beast which thou sawest was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go into destruction: and they who dwell on the earth, whose names are not written from the founding of the world in the book of life, shall wonder, seeing the beast, that it was, and is not, and shall be present. [Darby]
Revelation 17:3 gives us more information about this beast:
And he took me away in spirit into the desert. And I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.[Douay Rheims Translation]
In this exposition we take a look at Herod the Great: The first king represented in the seven heads of the beast of Revelation 17:8.
Herod the Great was great or certainly had a big head about himself. He was 'big' in many ways, his parentage, his prominent father, Antipater, his upbringing and his ultimate destiny.
His destiny seemed decided from an early age, as young as ten years of age, he was presented to Caesar and no doubt sighted by his father, an Idumeaan and his mother, the daughter of a priest.
Messiah and Herod:
There is little doubt that the issue of Messiah was on the agenda from 40BC, and there was particular frenzy about this issue. When Herod the Great was visited by the Magi he was astonished that there was another king in Bethlehem. Immediately, having dismissed the Magi, he ordered the slaughter of the children under two years of age in Bethlehem: {4}
King Herod the Great
This great king arose in direct opposition to the Messiah Jesus Christ, concluding that if he killed the child, he, himself would remain as Messiah. To prove his Messiahship, Herod built many wonderful buildings, fortresses and an elaborate temple, called Herod’s temple. What else would a Messiah do? Build up the armed forces to keep out the enemy and keep the people safe, make a huge temple for the king [himself] to dwell in and rule for a long time. Herod tried to imitate the role of the Davidic Dynasty.
Herod would have considered himself as a descendant of King David, whose kingdom would never end, and which is a parable of the Heavenly Kingdom.
Comparisons between Daniel and Revelation:
Daniel 7:8
"While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
Revelation 12:3
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Notice that this dragon or terrible beast has seven crowns upon its heads?
Crowns indicate Kings. If you read Roman history you will find that it is extremely diverse, with many kings, wars and conflicts for the seat of power.