The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition.
(Revelation 17: 8)
In attempting to interpret this we are now heading into slightly more speculative territory, however if we continue with the understanding of prophecies concerning empires that we’ve gained so far
then this may refer to the Roman Empire that previously was, that is not (during an interlude
P a g e 52
between its stages), will rise again to become the end times empire, but will ultimately be judged
and destroyed. There may be variations on this that are feasible, however given the intrinsic
connection set out in the book of Daniel between the Roman Empire and the empire of end times
this seems the most straight forward and reasonable interpretation.
“Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
(Revelation 17: 9-11)
Here we are given the interpretation of the seven heads of the beast. Given that it is the
interpretation it makes sense to take it literally (as seven mountains) rather than look for further symbolic meaning. Thus it seems fair that people have often connected “the seven mountains” of
this passage with the city of Rome, referred to at times in the past as “The City Of Seven Hills”
(dating from when the smaller size of the city only encompassed that number of hills). Obviously the significance of any possible connection with Rome is that Rome is where the Vatican is located and
thus it is the seat of Roman Catholicism. As for the kings in the vision, does the fact that there are seven (for even the eight is one of the seven) bear any relationship to the seven heads of the beast?
We’ll expand on the possibilities here later, however if Catholicism is the main focus of the passage then it could perhaps refer to kings (or kingdoms) which over time have been, or are yet to be, under the direct or indirect control of Catholicism. What we can tell for sure is that these kings are a
succession of kings (unlike the 10 kings we see afterwards who reign concurrently with one another).
That they are a series of kings is clear because of the seven only one is present at the time the vision relates to, while five are past and another is yet future. There is also an eighth, presumably the final Antichrist (who is also said to be one of the seven). This sounds confusing but we’ll come back to it soon and hopefully find that it’s not too hard to understand.
Now, turning our attention to another group of kings:
“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
P a g e 53
(Revelation 17: 12-14)
The ten kings represented by the ten horns receive no kingdom of their own, yet each has authority
one hour with the beast. These are not a succession of kings but reign at the same time as each
other, presumably over different geographical areas. As such they are also not historical to the time of the vision but relate very much to end times since they give their authority and power to the
beast. Most likely these ten are world leaders in the final world empire who align themselves to the service of the Antichrist; perhaps as regional presidents or something of that nature.
Now skipping over verses 16 & 17, which we discussed earlier, one final clue is given to the identity of the woman.
And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
(Revelation 17: 18)
Here again relating the great harlot of Chapter 17 to Roman Catholicism seems to fit, since through the Roman Caesars, then later through the popes, the city of Rome could be said to have ruled over
the kings of the earth for at least 1600 years. Relating it only to the physical city though would make it hard to apply all the other clues of this chapter, therefore since Roman Catholicism is so
intrinsically connected to the city of Rome, defining “The Church of Rome” as “that great city”
(Rome) seems fitting, especially when viewed from the religious and political circumstances of the
middle ages.