In our previous post, we discussed the Mystery that is Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots AND abominations on the earth. We learned that “she” is a very old, ancient “woman” who seems to have roots in the Garden of Eden, perhaps having something to do with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We found that “she” appears to be related to Nimrod, whose name literally means “rebellion”. She also has a connection to the tower of Babel (confusion), hence her name Babylon the Great, mother of harlots and abominations”. Since the time of the flood, “she” has burrowed herself into all religions, causing chaos and confusion. Her “daughters” include the harlots (Judaism, (Kabala/Pharisees) and Christianity (Roman Catholicism/Illuminati/Freemasonry and others), in whom there are tares HIDDEN amongst the wheat (those in Covenant with YHWH). She has “other daughters” (abominations) that are not in Covenant with YHWH who have been deceived into worshiping idols (all other religions). “She” (Mystery Babylon) was created by the devil (Satan) to trick humanity into worshiping him rather than YHWH Elohim through deception. 😈
In the book of Revelation, this Mysterious Babylon the Great, mother of harlots and abominations is riding on a scarlet beast. The two definitely “go together”, and they appear to be best friends, but at the time of the end, the beast (ANTICHRIST) turns on the woman (MYSTERY BABYLON) and burns her with fire.
Revelation 17:3 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.
7 And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
The angel is about to give us a detailed explanation, albeit in somewhat cryptic and apocalyptic language, about the identity of the woman AND of the beast who carries her. We have to pay close attention to the details in order to understand what the angel is saying. In our previous post, we took a closer look at the identity of “Mystery Babylon”, the woman who rides the beast. This post is going to focus on the identity of the beast (ANTICHRIST) and his relationship with the woman (MYSTERY BABYLON).
Revelation 17: 8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction.
This is a little bit like working a puzzle. Many people have written books on this beast/woman combo. Biblical scholars have reached a consensus that the beast being described in these verses IS THE MAN KNOWN AS “THE ANTICHRIST”, who is actually SATAN INCARNATE. Although the antichrist spirit has been around working behind the scenes for Millennia, “he” will literally indwell a man (son of perdition) during the period known as the Great Tribulation (the final 3.5 years of man’s self-rule on earth). This antichrist spirit, the devil, goes by many names…Satan, the dragon, the serpent, the enemy, “star of the morning (Isaiah 14:12)” who has fallen (not to be confused with THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR who is JESUS (Rev. 22:16)), the “prince of the power of the air”, the “accuser of the brethren”.
His original angelic name (before he fell) was lucifer, which means “light bearer”. The Bible describes his original angelic appearance that was given to him by YHWH Elohim as beautiful, perhaps even the most beautiful angel created.
Quick review of this scarlet beast/satan
Ezekiel 28: 11: You had the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 “You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The ruby, the topaz and the diamond;
The beryl, the onyx and the jasper;
The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald;
And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets,
Was in you.
On the day that you were created (Lucifer/Satan is a CREATED BEING. In contrast, Jesus Christ IS the Great I AM. Jesus was NOT “created’. Jesus has no beginning nor end. Jesus IS GOD and is part of the eternally existing Godhead (YHWH OR FATHER /YAHUSHUA OR JESUS CHRIST /RUACH HAKODESH OR HOLY SPIRIT))
They were prepared.
14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers,
And I placed you there.
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 “You were blameless in your ways
From the day you (lucifer/satan) were created
Until unrighteousness was found in you.
In the Garden of Eden, this entity deceived Eve into “eating” from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This entity KNEW that this would bring SICKNESS, PAIN, SUFFERING and DEATH into the world!!! He hates YHWH, but he cannot harm YHWH the Most High God, so he goes after YHWH’s children! YHWH LOVES his children, so if the enemy can harm YHWH’s children, then he can grieve the heart of YHWH! He KNOWINGLY rebelled against YHWH, his CREATOR, and he was cursed in the Garden.
Genesis 3:
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, 🐍Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle,
(who’s made out of dust…humanity?)
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
The dragon wanted to ascend ABOVE YHWH, his Creator!! He wanted to raise “his throne” ABOVE all the “stars of the Heaven” (the angels of Heaven). In Isaiah 14 (see below), “stars” are a reference to angels, “star of the morning” is a reference to satan/the dragon. Because of satan’s rebellion, YHWH has “cut” him to the earth! No longer is he named lucifer (light bearer), now he is named satan (the adversary).
Isaiah 14: 12:
“How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened the nations!
13 “But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol,
To the recesses of the pit.
Job 1:7: The LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”
The book of Job makes it clear that although the enemy (Satan) has been cut down to the earth, he still has SOME access to Heaven, to YHWH, where he makes accusations against God’s people day and night. This is why the enemy is called “the accuser of the brethren” (Rev. 12:10).
Revelation 12: 7: And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
10: “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
In Revelation 12:7-10; however, we see that at the start of the final 3.5 years, the “Great Tribulation”, there is a war in Heaven and the devil will be thrown down to earth. He will no longer have access to YHWH to make accusations against mankind. Heaven rejoices when this happens, but the earth will mourn because Satan will be very angry! (Revelation 12:12).😈
Revelation 12:12: For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
Revelation 12:4 indicates that the enemy convinced 1/3 of God’s Angels to join his rebellion against YHWH, and they too will be thrown down to earth at the start of the Great Tribulation (final 3.5 years of man’s self rule on earth) ! Remember, “stars” are a metaphor for angels in apocalyptic literature.
Revelation 12:3-4 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads AND ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems (crowns). 4 And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.
Identifying the 7 heads and 10 horns of the beast
Now that we have quickly reviewed some of the history of this entity, let us refocus our attention back to the seven heads and ten horns of the scarlet beast. The phrase “seven heads and ten horns” is a “repeating phrase” used to describe the red dragon in Revelation 12 AND its used to describe the Beast in Revelation 17! These are the same entity...the antichrist is the devil!
Revelation 17:9 Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains (kingdoms) on which the woman (Mystery Babylon) sits,
10 AND they are seven kings (kings and kingdoms are often “synonymous” in the Bible);
five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
11The beast (antichrist) which was and is not, is himself also an eighth AND is ONE of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
12 The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom (NEW WORLD ORDER), but they receive authority as kings WITH THE BEAST (ANTICHRIST) for one hour. 13 These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here. Let’s go slowly through this. We won’t be intimidated by the cryptic language or apocalyptic symbolism. Holy Spirit is our Guide who will lead us into all truth! The 7 heads are 7 mountains. A mountain is symbolic for a Kingdom, so John is writing that these 7 heads of the beast are 7 EARTHLY kingdoms. In-fact, his next phrase confirms this when he says that they are also seven kings. In the Bible, the term kings is often used interchangeably with kingdoms. What John is telling us is that this beast, the devil, has been working behind the scenes for Millennia influencing these 7 earthly kingdoms. This is why he is often called “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). How has the devil been influencing these kingdoms? I would imagine he has been influencing them via the deception of the woman (Mystery Babylon) who is riding on his back (false religions and harlots – idolatry).
Now we move to the next phrase in Revelation 17 to better identify the earthly kingdoms being written about.
- John reports that 5 have fallen. This means that at the time John wrote the Revelation, five of these earthly Kingdoms had already fallen.
- Then, he says “one is” (6th kingdom), he’s referring to the earthly kingdom that was in power during the time he wrote the Revelation.
- The other has not yet come (7th kingdom), but when it comes it will remain only a short while.
- THE BEAST (ANTICHRIST) IS ONE OF THE SEVEN, AND IS ALSO AN EIGHTH
We can use Scripture itself to identify at least 4 of these Kingdoms. The book of Daniel identifies 4 of these kingdoms.
There is a definite overlap between the 5 “fallen” kingdoms in Revelation 17 and the “future” kingdoms listed in Daniel. This is because Daniel (written between 540 and 530 BC during the Babylonian exile) WAS LOOKING FORWARD to current/FUTURE Kingdoms STARTING with Babylon. The Revelation (written in about 96AD) is looking BACKWARD at 5 Global Kingdoms that HAD FALLEN by the time John wrote the Revelation. It appears that John looks BACKWARD further than the Kingdom of Babylon (Daniel’s starting point). It’s not critical to the understanding of these verses that we “nail” this perfectly, so we will just give our opinion.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS (HEADS/KINGS) which “HAD FALLEN” AT THE TIME THAT JOHN WROTE THE REVELATION, which was about 96 AD, or 26 years AFTER the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem was burnt to the ground in 70AD by the Romans.
- Egypt (Pharoah)
- Assyria (Ninevah)..built by Nimrod
- Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar)…Daniel’s starting kingdom
- Media/Persia (King Cyrus, King Artaxerxes)
- Greece (Alexander the Great)…splitting into 4 Kingdoms including the Seleucids and the Ptolemeis
Let us look at this portion of the verse again as we continue to try to understand what John was telling us about the beast that Mystery Babylon was “riding”.
Revelation 17:10 AND they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
John said that 5 Kingdoms (Kings) “have fallen”, and “one is“. John was referring to the Kingdom that was the dominant global power at the time he was writing the Revelation (96AD). The Kingdom that was in power during the time that John wrote the Revelation was Rome, represented by the legs of iron in Daniel’s statue. This was a very powerful kingdom that trampled down the entire earth (Daniel 7:23). In-fact, it was Rome who sent John into exile on the Isle of Patmos, where he penned the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
6. Rome
Now we have identified the first 6 kingdoms, or 6 of the heads on this beast. The last of the 7 Kingdoms that “HAS NOT YET COME, but when he comes will remain just a short while” (according to John who was writing the Revelation in 96AD) is a bit of a mystery and subject to much debate. There have been many theories about this seventh kingdom. These are just our thoughts.
7. USA?
Is the USA the seventh kingdom?? This is a guess, and we could be totally wrong. The Lord will REVEAL these things in HIS timing. The USA is today’s global superpower, and would have been considered a future kingdom at the time John wrote the Revelation. John said that this “future Kingdom” (7th Kingdom) would only last for a “short while”. The United States has only lasted a little over 240 years, or twice the time that it took Noah to build the ark. Although the US is still the dominant global superpower, for how much longer? The enemy has done a really good job of dividing the USA.
https://dyingworld.org/2019/02/19/a-divided-kingdom-cannot-stand/
Revelation 17:9: Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads (kings) are seven mountains (kingdoms) upon which the woman (mystery babylon) sits,
Revelation 17:11: The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is ONE of the seven, and he goes to destruction
Now to unpack the next part of this verse about the beast (Rev. 17:11). The verse says that the Beast…..
- “WAS”,
- “IS NOT”, and is
- “HIMSELF AN EIGHTH” (king/kingdom),
- AND is ONE OF THE SEVEN.
We were told in verse 9 (Rev. 17:9) that the SPIRIT of antichrist has been behind the scenes influencing ALL of the 7 kingdoms over the past several thousand years via deception through the Mystery of Babylon, mother of harlots and abominations!
Revelation 18:2: Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev. 18:23: and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your witchcraft
However, in Revelation 17:11, we see this “pivot“ from the SPIRIT of antichrist working behind the scenes as “Mystery Babylon” to the VISIBLE PERSON of the antichrist. This is a really important point to understand if we want to grasp the meaning of this verse!!! Let’s compare Rev. 17:8 and Rev. 17:11 (see BELOW). Both verses describe the beast, saying “he was”, and “is not”, and “goes to destruction.” These are common phrases in both verses. Let’s now look at the difference between these verses.
Rev. 17:11 The beast which was, and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
Rev. 17:8: “The beast that you saw was (visible in the Garden of Eden), and is not (Not visible since the FLOOD), and is about to come up out of the abyss (Satan/antichrist becomes VISIBILE AGAIN IN THE LAST DAYS🙈) and go to destruction. And those who live on the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and will come.
Verse 11 says he is an EIGHTH (king/kingdom) and is ONE of the seven and goes to destruction. Verse 8 AGREES with verse 11 saying that this beast/antichrist “was”, and “is not”, but is now about to come up out of the bottomless pit (a type of “resurrection” or more like a permission granted for him to literally inhabit a human being) and goes to destruction.
What we can infer is that the VISIBLE MANIFESTATION of the BEAST on the earth “WAS” (in the garden of Eden), then “IS NOT” (was NOT visible SINCE the time of the FLOOD and still not visible at the time that John wrote the Revelation; however, (is about to come) WILL become VISIBLE when the beast comes up out of the bottomless pit and is permitted to literally indwell a man.) This “man” will become the 8th king (NEW WORLD ORDER), BUT he WAS also ALIVE as ONE of the seven kings/kingdoms.
The man of sin is the title of the antichrist BEFORE being indwelt by Satan. During his “reign” as king of the 7th kingdom, the antichrist is not literally indwelt by Satan, but is OPERATING under the SPIRIT of the antichrist. The spirit of antichrist has controlled ALL SIX of the previous kings/kingdoms in the form of ‘MYSTERY BABYLON’. However, after his fake resurrection (comes up out of the bottomless pit), the antichrist will be literally indwelt by Satan. This happens in the final 3.5 years of Great Tribulation).
2 Thessalonians 2:3: No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed (the man of lawlessness is the title of the man who will be indwelt by Satan as the antichrist), the son of destruction (the son of destruction or perdition is the antichrist’s title AFTER he is indwelt by Satan – FINAL 3.5 YEARS OF GREAT TRIBULATION),
4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 😱
Now here is the mind that has wisdom. (Rev. 17:11)! The antichrist is ONE of the SEVEN kings/kingdoms…and is also an eighth. The last kingdom on this list that we KNOW has fallen is ROME (the 6th kingdom). This “man” would not be alive today and visible on the earth if he had been a part of ancient Rome. He would need to be part of the most recent kingdom (the 7th kingdom), the one that continued only a short while....Our guess is that THE USA is the 7th kingdom. With this in mind, the antichrist would have to be a part (“king”/President) of the 7th kingdom (USA?) before he moves to the 8th kingdom, the “New World Order“. (a quick note, we do NOT believe that D. Trump is the antichrist, but we DO believe that the antichrist is alive today!!) 🤔
Let us look at the final portion of these verses in Revelation 17. In Daniel’s statue, there were 10 toes made of iron and clay, partly weak and partly strong. Revelation 17 identifies these 10 toes as 10 ELITE “kings” who although they do not YET have a literal kingdom, they will receive authority WITH the beast (Antichrist) for one prophetic hour (literal 3.5 years). This alliance is known as the final kingdom, the 8th kingdom whose king will be the antichrist. The 8th kingdom is the NEW WORLD ORDER.
https://dyingworld.org/2019/01/29/daniels-beast-kingdom/
Revelation 17:12 The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings WITH THE BEAST for one hour. 13 These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
See how the elite of the world have already divided up the globe into 10 regions via the United Nations.
As we said in our previous post…is there ANY good news here??? Yes, the Lord Jesus’ perfect and RIGHTEOUS JUSTICE!
Revelation 17:15: And he *said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw, AND the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will BURN HER WITH FIRE . 17 For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purposeby having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.
The enemy’s kingdom is a divided kingdom. Jesus tells us that a divided kingdom cannot stand. None of the six previous “kingdoms” that the enemy has controlled have stood the test of time. Even now, the USA (7th kingdom) is in grave danger, and we are told will only last “a short time”. Satan has used the harlot Mystery Babylon as a means to TRICK mankind into worshiping him through DECEPTION for the past 6,000 years. However, at the time of the end, the final 3.5 years of Daniel’s 70th week, AFTER the abomination that makes desolate is SET UP, Satan must no longer feel like he needs to use deception to be worshiped. He will set himself in the Temple as God, claiming to be God! The gig is up. “Mystery Babylon” is no longer needed because now Satan (antichrist) will DEMAND to be worshiped without DECEPTION! (mark of the beast). The beast Satan will destroy Mystery Babylon, the thing that he created.
Revelation 17:16: And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast (antichrist), these will hate the prostitute (MYSTERY BABYLON) and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.
The LORD JESUS CHRIST has put it into the heart of the enemy to destroy his own deception!!! Talk about Poetic Justice!!! HALLELUJAH! YHWH Elohim tells us that the wheat will be bundled and taken into the barn (Heaven/Rapture), and the tares (weeds) will be bundled and burned with fire. Then, the Lord Jesus Christ will return, set His Feet on the Mt. of Olives at the Battle of Armageddon, and destroy those who are destroying the earth. The beast “goes to destruction!” God will pour out His Holy Wrath on the Beast and the False Prophet, and they will be imprisoned in the bottomless pit for 1000 years. This will begin the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ on this earth, the final 1000 years of PEACE, a “Sabbath Rest” for mankind!
Daniel 2: 44 In the days of those kings (tfj: the beast and the 10 kings that do not yet have a kingdom) the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
HALLELUJAH!!! ❤
Revelation 4:8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”
Look at the contrast between Revelation 4 and Revelation 17. Revelation 17 is about the beast (who was the serpent in the garden)..IS NOT. (has no life in him because he cut himself off from his creator)..and is to come (will indwell the antichrist) and then go to destruction.
Revelation 4 is about JESUS the CHRIST, the ONE TRUE GOD, the lover of our souls. Here, we see that JESUS WAS (Jesus of Nazareth who DIED for our SINS!!). HE IS...ALIVE in Heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father! AND HE IS TO COME..HE is RETURNING TO EARTH to SET UP HIS KINGDOM on earth that will NEVER be destroyed!!! JESUS, alone is the EVER EXISTING ONE! JESUS IS the GREAT IAM! I don’t know about you, but I’m sticking with JESUS!!!❤
