Revelation 17:7
And the angel said unto me, wherefore did thou 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.
This verse can be broken down into 4 characters: John, the angel, the woman and the beast. The verse reflects a mystery which surrounds the woman, followed by another mystery which surrounds the beast of ten horns. The mystery of the woman is fairly simple, the woman is a commercially corrupt trader, a great city which rules over the kings of the earth in the latter days. The mystery of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns is a bit more complex.
The angel: the angel is one of the seven angels with one of the seven vials. His mission was to carry John into the wilderness and show him the judgement of the great (English: prostitute / harlot: - Greek: πόρνης ..... commercially corrupt one) who sits on many waters, fornicating with the kings of the earth: 17:1.
The mystery: the angel arrives while John is in the midst of the tribulation period, serving as a witness to the things which will come after R 1:19. The angel explains why Babylon had been singled out for judgement: R 16:19b. The angel is present throughout this entire ordeal, speaking with John, explaining the events that appear before him. After John is taken into the wilderness, he sees a gruesome sight, a woman dressed in scarlet and purple, adorned with the riches of the world, accompanied by a great scarlet beast with ten horns and seven heads. The angel begins to tell John the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, with the seven heads and ten horns.
In this verse, the angel has already given John a clue; the beast carries the woman; he bears her weight. We discover in verse 9 that the woman is carried upon the seven heads of the beast, like a glittery crown. She neither directs nor steers the path of the beast, she is carried, propped up like a queen. From her royal seating arrangement, the woman reigns over the kings of the earth in the last days.
The mystery of the woman: In verses 1-6 we were given spiritual insight about the woman. In the very first verse, John described the woman as commercially corrupt, sitting on many waters which is interpreted by the angel, as peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues: 17:15. Her reach is vast, international, spreading over a global market. She fornicates with the kings of the earth who are willing co-conspirators, aligning themselves to her, making the inhabitants of the earth drunk, with her vile intoxications: R 17:2; 18:3.
John was taken by the spirit into the wilderness. It is here where he sees the woman and the beast with seven heads and ten horns. We already know from Daniel 7 and Revelation 13:1-4 that the beast represents a kingdom. This gives us the location where the woman and her companion, the beast kingdom, are found - in the barren wilderness, the desert.
The woman carries a golden cup full of vile things: her abominations and fornications aka: spiritual immorality. She is decked in gold, and pearls and precious stones, and arrayed in royal colors of ancient Mesopotamian prestige; scarlet and purple. Purple represents carnal wealth and royalty, once worn by Kings, and those in the kings court who held religious power: the sorcerers, wise men and seers. The scarlet that she wears represents sin, war, bloodshed and violence; connecting her to the scarlet beast, who is further connected to the red dragon - who also has seven heads and ten horns R 12:3.
So now, we see a commercially corrupt prostitute projecting a facade of religious royalty - worship tied to economic harlotry - which is further detailed in the following chapter. This religious and economic harlotry is controlled by the false prophet R13:15b,16,17, which tells us the woman is an international hub of commerce, tied to the buying and selling initiated by the false prophet through the religious system of the beast kingdom.
She wears a name upon her forehead: Mystery, Babylon the Great, The Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. The woman has the same name of the great city who faces judgment in Revelation 14:8; 16:19b; 17:1 and, Revelation 18:2,10. The name upon her forehead signifies allegiance to the beast that carries her: R 13:16, which has the same name as the woman: Babylon the Great. **At this point in the scripture, everyone is told to cross out Babylon the Great, and replace Babylon with Rome, removing the prophetic significance of Babylon in the last days, exchanging one city and kingdom for another.**
The woman becomes drunk with the blood of martyrs of Christ Jesus, and the blood of the saints, delirious with world power during the great tribulation period. The next chapter explains that one of her many transports are slaves and, the souls of men. Chapter 18 tells us the woman is a merchant port, transporting captives as part of her commodities.
The angel shows John the plot of the ten kings to destroy her. These are the ten kings who rise out of the beast kingdom. They hate the woman and conspire to make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire - stripping her of her wealth and consuming her power: R 17:12,13,16,17. The plot to destroy her is carried into the narrative of chapter 18, with the appearance of a second angel with great power and authority. This second angel descends from heaven to announce the judgement against the great city; Babylon is fallen, is fallen. This will be the second fall of Babylon.
The first fall of Babylon is seen in Daniel 5, the night of the writing on the wall. On this night, the Mede-Persian armies defeated Babylon, and Darius the Mede took the throne and ruled Babylon: Daniel 5:31; 6:28. This conquest was prophetic in nature, setting the fall of Babylon into motion and Babylon began to descend into ruin and desolation. The fall of Babylon hit it's zenith after the death of Alexander the Great (in Babylon) which is reflected in the statue of Nebuchadnezzar as the legs of iron, a time period of decline and desolation; a kingdom without a king.
Nebuchadnezzar, the prideful king, had a dream which prophesized the future of his kingdom which was Babylon. The dream image outlined the various future kingdoms ruled the middle east from Babylon. The dream image presents an historical timeline of Babylon. Three kingdoms have come and gone: gold, silver and brass - leaving a fourth that has not yet come. This fourth kingdom will rise in the latter days to seize world power. Revelation 13; 17 and 18, is the fulfillment of Nebuchadnezzar's fourth kingdom: the feet and toes of iron and clay; which parallels the fourth beast kingdom: the beast of ten horns.
The angel who took John into the wilderness, discloses that the woman is a great city, pivoting the narrative into the following chapter. John will soon discover that the woman is not only a great city but, she is also a merchant port who reigns over the kings of the earth.
So now, we know that the woman of Revelation 17 & 18 is a metaphor for a great (megalēs) city, which is also a merchant port. The great city will reign (βασιλείαν - have kingship) over the kings of the earth during the reign of Antichrist. Revelation 17 should be studied with the hindsight that the woman represents a religious merchant system, connected to the beast kingdom, and the buying and selling in the end of days. Babylon the Great is an economically powerful great city, who resides in the wilderness, the desert, alongside the beast of ten horns, who rises in the latter days as the tribulation - antichrist kingdom. Great is defined by the Greek as: μεγας, megalēs: splendid, vast, enormous by volume, massive in physical size, covering a well defined area.
Part 2: The Mystery of the Beast Which Has the Seven Heads and Ten Horns:
This mystery is a bit more complex. It centers around the wounded head 13:3, and a mortally wounded beast kingdom which rises from the abyss, healed and restored. Only a beast kingdom can be mortally wounded or slain, as it is a beast: a living, breathing entity: lion, bear, leopard, beast of ten horns. The mystery is not about the little horn, the mystery centers around the rise of the beast who has the seven heads (world kingdoms) and ten horns (ten kings) and one of his seven heads was mortally wounded. The mystery of the beast can also be found in Daniel 7, Rev 13:1-4, Rev 17:3,8-14,16,17.
And the angel said unto me, wherefore did thou 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.
To fully understand the mystery of the woman, one has to untangle the mystery of the beast, which carries her. Together, they rise to conquer the world in the end of days....
The angel draws John’s attention to the rise of the beast kingdom:
We know from Daniels night vision that the beast from the sea represents a kingdom. This is understood from Daniel 7:3,23 where the origin of the beast kingdoms began.
Beast in the Aramaic, is חֵיוְתָא which translates to: animal.
3) And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. 23) The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on earth which will be different from all the other (beast) kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it.
Daniel 7:24 tells us that the ten horns that arise from the beast, represent ten kings and that the little horn or, antichrist will rise up among them, as an eleventh king. Revelation 13:1; 17:12,13 place the ten kings into the time period of the tribulation to reign and rule over the kingdom. A horn is not a head, the horns rise from the head of the beast, as kings rise from kingdoms: Daniel 7:20a. The heads (kingdoms) and the horns (kings) belong to the beast kingdom; they are part of his genetic makeup. The beast is created in the image of the red dragon, who also has seven heads and ten horns: Rev 13:2.
Beast in the Greek is θηριον which translates to: animal, genetically non-human, living thing.
And I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast (kingdom) which I saw was like the leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were (slain) wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshiped the dragon which gave power to the beast, and they worshiped the beast saying who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? Revelation 13:1-4
The beast is given the male pronouns he, his and him, which often leads to confusion in interpretation, transposing a slain or mortally wounded head (kingdom) for a wounded horn (king). It is a head that was mortally wounded, not a horn; a horn is not a head. The wounded head becomes the beast kingdom which rises from the abyss with his fatal wound healed and, rises from the sea in Revelation 13:1-4.
The focus is on the wounded head and the rise of the beast kingdom with the seven heads and ten horns, unraveling his mystery. Rev 17:7b
The angel tells John how this transformation will come to be. A beast kingdom is different from a non-beast kingdom, as a beast can be mortally wounded or slain. The beast is an entity onto itself, made up of various parts and pieces, which work together to fulfil the goal of the red dragon; world domination. The beast has seven heads, (world kingdoms) ten horns (ten kings) and has the genetic makeup of three, previous beast kingdoms that are mortally wounded and deceased: the lion - the mouth or head of the beast, the bear - the feet, the foundation and the leopard - the body with multiple heads. These three mortally wounded beast kingdoms once ruled the middle east, placing kings in Babylon. This tells us that the Babylonian lion- will be the catalyst that sets everything in motion.
The unity of three beast kingdoms form a fourth kingdom; the beast of ten horns in the latter days. This formation of mortally wounded beast kingdoms has the appearance of death, a mortally wounded seventh head. Out of this kingdom, ten horns will rise.
The seven heads represent seven world kingdoms that belong to the red dragon - each kingdom is represented by a crown - seven heads / seven crowns - one for each kingdom. These kingdoms are given over to the beast once it begins to rise. Rev 13:2b
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. Rev 12:3
And I saw one of his heads (kingdoms) as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. Rev 13:3 ….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 (mortally wounded) beast (kingdom) that was, and is not, and yet is. Rev 17:8b
When John witnessed the rise of the beast from the sea, the mortal head wound was already healed, and the world wondered after the beast who was wounded by the sword and did live. Rev 13:3b, 12b, 14b.
Revelation 17:8 &11 document HOW the beast kingdom comes to be, filling in the blanks.
8) The beast (kingdom) that you saw (carry the woman) was and is not: and shall ascend out of the ἄβυσσος 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.
Verse 8 and 11 detail the transformation of the seventh head, the seventh kingdom into the eighth world kingdom. The wounded head was, and is not - was slain - and will ascend out of the bottomless pit, the abyss, healed and restored, and rise from the sea in 13:1. Those on earth will be awed and amazed when they see the beast (kingdom) that was, and is not, and yet is, rise again as Babylon the Great.
9) And here is the mind which hath wisdom. “The seven heads are seven mountains (Greek: ορος, óros- mountains, marked boundaries) on which the woman sits.
Verse 9: details the woman's relationship to the beast, revealing the symbolic significance of the seven heads that have the name of blasphemy, where the woman sits. The seven heads are seven mountains and also seven kings (verse 10) This tells us the meaning of the seven heads is symbolic, rather than literal. King is from the Greek: βασιλεῖς basileus, meaning a kingdom, realm, or territorial dominion.
A mountain, when used in prophetic text represent a kingdom. For example: Lucifer was thrown from the mount (kingdom) of God: Ezekiel 28:14-16. The stone that struck the feet of Nebuchadnezzar's image became a great mountain (kingdom) and filled the whole earth: Daniel 2:35b. Babylon was the destroying mountain (kingdom) who destroyed all the earth: Jeremiah 51:24,25.
If you have seven mountains, seven kingdoms, you must have seven kings and vice versa. There are six world kingdoms documented in the Bible and, a seventh that is not yet come:
10) And there are seven kings; five are fallen (1 Egypt, 2 Assyria, 3 Babylon - fallen beast, 4 Greece - fallen beast, 5 Persia - fallen beast), and one is, (6 Rome), and the other is not yet come (7 - beast of ten horns) and when he comes, he must continue a short space.
Verse 10: details the order and succession of world kingdoms. Five have come and gone, one remains and another, a seventh, has not yet come - the beast of ten horns. It is the seventh that continues a short space until it is raised from the abyss as an eighth; the beast that has the seven heads and ten horns.
11) And the beast (kingdom) that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven (heads, kingdoms), and goes into perdition.
After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel…. Ezekiel 38:8.
And this, is the mystery of the beast with seven heads and ten horns... it is a combined force of kingdoms which ruled the middle east, that was, is not - was slain, mortally wounded, and yet is and, will be again. The beast is created from the amalgamation of the three previous mortally wounded beasts that Daniel saw rise from the sea: the lion, the bear and, the leopard. Together they form a fourth kingdom in the latter days: the beast of ten horns. This kingdom will rise as a seventh head, a seventh world kingdom and will continue a short space until he is raised from the abyss, the bottomless pit as an eighth kingdom.
… I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.
Many scoff at the idea of a 'revived' middle east so, over the course of history, Babylon the Great had been replaced by Rome, and Nebuchadnezzar's fourth kingdom, the feet and toes of iron and shard clay, is taught as a futuristic 'revived Roman empire' which becomes a 'fifth' kingdom - a non-existing kingdom, that has yet to revive to rule the earth. Based upon the intent of scripture, and the location in relation to Jerusalem and Israel, and, without a pre-ordained conclusion already in place, Babylon remains Babylon, the focus of this specific end time prophecy. Even though many will encourage you to cross out Babylon and write in Rome -- above all else, trust in the authority of the Bible and not the world view.
The vast majority interpret Daniel's fourth beast as Rome, rising 2000 years ago and then, 'reviving' into a revived beast of ten horns that rises from the sea in Rev 13:1-4 - replacing the biblical fourth kingdom for a fifth. Though there is no scriptural support for a fifth kingdom in Daniel 2 or, a fifth beast in Daniel 7, or any biblical support that Rome rose as the fourth kingdom that 'revives' at an undisclosed future date, as the 7th and 8th world kingdom, this is most common teaching in the church today.
When was Babylon transformed and relocated to Rome in scripture? I am asking you search the Bible for one scriptural reference that transfers the Babylon kingdom to Europe. If anyone has any scriptural evidence other than theories, code words and outdated hypotheses, please let me know what you find.
While many Christians watch for a mortally wounded king (horn) to rise from the abyss, others are watching a slain 'beast' kingdom revive from a mortal wound; the beast that was, was not, yet is and shall be.... Babylon the Great.
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