Seed of the Serpent Genesis 3:15

And, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it (the seed) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15.

   Year's ago, Pentecostal minister, William Branham took this verse and added to it, falsely teaching that Satan had impregnated Eve with the seed of Cain. Though it has no biblical basis, it began a series of Bible awareness surrounding the seed of Satan. 

   The mention of the serpents seed is in Genesis 3:15, suggests that there are two seeds; a good seed, and a bad seed. Enmity is placed between the woman's seed and the bad seed, purposely causing a divide. Enmity is a deep seated hatred or hostility, between individuals or people groups, centered around the sovereignty of God, and the divinity of Christ Jesus. This represents an age old conflict between good and evil; a spiritual battle of sin and rebellion, and obedience to God. 

   In the Bible we find a stark contrast between two kingdoms; the kingdom of God: righteousness, purity and light, and the kingdom of the Serpent: deception, darkness, evil.  This spiritual division wrestles for the soul of man.  The seed of man is the soul; and every seed has its own body. The seed of the woman  defines the division between the two kingdoms.

Simplified Overview Revelation 13 - Rise of the Beast Kingdom

    Revelation 13 can be broken down into four distinct characters, the red dragon, the beast kingdom, the little horn (antichrist), the beast out of the earth, aka: the false prophet: the  magician or sorcerer.

    Mesopotamian kingdoms had religious systems full of false prophets: magicians, sorcerers, star gazers,  necromancers, mediums with familiar spirits, wise men, and dream interpreters in the kings court. This is what the false prophet represents, a master magician who rules in the kings court, in service to the king and his kingdom. 

The Simplified Overview:  

Rise of the beast kingdom. Revelation 13:1-4

Rise of the little horn or antichrist: Revelation 13:5 - 10 

Rise of the Beast out of the Earth: Revelation 13:11-16

Rise of the dragons power: Revelation 13:2b, 5b 

   Of the four, the rise of the beast is the most complicated as it is the most complex. What makes it so complex is the amount of detail involved in his genetic makeup. The beast has many parts and pieces, which work together as a collective whole. The beast is a formation of three previous beast kingdoms, ten crowned horns, and seven heads; and, one of his seven heads was slain and mortally wounded. But, when John saw the beast rise from the sea, the mortal wound was healed. There is also a bit of Biblical and historical knowledge needed to navigate the rise of previous 'beast' kingdoms and, their geographical locations. 

   Middle eastern kingdoms simply absorbed the conquered ones, expanding their territorial boundaries. These ancient territorial markers set the boundaries for the antichrist kingdom. 

Cities Defined As Women in the Bible

   The old testament is full of history. It documents the rise and fall of kings and kingdoms, cities, Judges and prophets. There were good kings such as Josiah who did what was right in the sight of God, while others like Ahab, did evil. There were also good queens such as Esther, who saved her people from the likes of Haman. and evil queens like Jezebel, who filled the northern kingdom with witchcraft, idol worship, Phoenician deities and pagan sacrifices. 

    There is a systematic rhythm found in the writings of scripture that define cities, and oftentimes kingdoms, using feminine pronouns. These feminine attributes maximize specific characteristics focused on behavior. Some cities had good qualities while others did not; and that set them up for judgement. 

   Sodom and Gomorrah were marked for judgement "Because the cry of of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous..." Genesis 18:20-22

   As we know, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because the inhabitants  were consumed with iniquity and haughty pride. When compared with the iniquity of Jerusalem, Sodom was the sister with daughters in the book of Ezekiel. Chapter 16 is full of feminine verbiage describing the character of cities. 

That Great City: Revelation 17:18

   But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days: 2 Timothy 3:1.

   Revelation: Greek  ἀποκάλυψις - Apokalypsis - to uncover or unveil.  

   Revelation presents a series of events which occur before the second coming of Christ Jesus. This time period is most often referred to as: the 7-year tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble, the 70th week, the last days, the latter days, the end of the age, the end of days or the end times. 

   The end of days will be a time of  tribulation, unlike anything the world has ever seen: a conversion of war, famine, pestilence, natural catastrophes, cosmic disturbances, plagues and divine judgements. The construction of the third temple, will make Jerusalem a cup of drunken trembling for the nations: Zechariah 12:2-3, sending armies to battle. But, these are only a few of the things that mark the time of the end. 

   Knowledge of these future events, help to identify these end time markers as they become visible. The most compelling future event is the prophecy found in Revelation 13  - the rise of the beast out of the sea - the tribulation kingdom of antichrist. The beast out of the sea is a vicious and brutal kingdom which has seven heads (seven kingdoms) and ten crowned horns (ten kings): R 13:1-4. There is also a second beast which rises from the earth: R 13:11, which has two horns 'like a lamb' and speaks the words of the red dragon. This Beast out of the earth (clay) is the religious system of the first beast - the beast out of the sea (iron). 

English Back to Greek Revelation 17:3

English Back to Greek Revelation 17:3

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 

   The most interesting area of study of Revelation 17 and 18 are translating the English  interpretations back into the original Greek and breaking down the meaning behind those words. Some of the English translations were poorly chosen. 

   John chose his words very carefully when drafting his account, detailing specifics that are not found in the English translations. Studying the Greek which John used gives us a clearer picture of what John was witnessing while in the spirit. 

   In verse 7 the angel tells John that he will tell him the mystery of the woman and the beast that carries her. The angel begins to explain a succession of events surrounding the beast who carries the woman upon his seven heads. The angel begins with the mortally wounded beast kingdom in verse 8, but does not give John much more information about the woman until the very last verse,  Here, the angel tells John that the woman which he saw was that great (μεγας) city (πολις) which will reign over the kings of the earth. This verse transitions the narrative back to the woman; not only is the woman a great city, but she is also a merchant port.

   In the Greek, μεγας, mega translates into English as great, huge, enormous by volume, overtly large by physical size, covering vast amounts of territory. 

   πολις or, polis for city is defined in the Greek as a walled city, mother city, magistrate city of many, that dominates well defined territory.. So now we know that the woman is a metaphor for a extremely large city. 

Babylon Through The Ages

     Babylon the Great, a city of mystery and intrigue, antiquities and abandonment. An ancient city named after a great kingdom that ruled the middle east from the heart of the Iraqi desert. The city of the desert now lies barren, deserted and desolate; waiting for the economic boom that will revitalize her, one last time. 

   Both history and science back the Biblical claim that the Fertile Crescent, which runs through the heart of the Mesopotamia was the birth place of man, the birth of civilization. When fallen angels chose to create a race of their own, a 'renewal' took place after the great flood. 

   The Mesopotamia is the land mass that extends from the base of the Nile, up the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, then east through Israel. The Mesopotamian crescent continues through modern day Syria into Nineveh before taking a sharp downward turn into Iraq, by way of the Euphrates and Tigris River to the Persian Gulf.

   This area, believed by many is the location of two of the four rivers that flowed from the Garden of Eden and the birthplace of man. Some have debated that the Garden of Eden was created in Israel; but, the great flood had changed the geophysical landscape in such a way, that neither can be substantiated.

   Southern Iraq is also the area of the Plains of Shinar or more commonly known as the Land of Shinar, land between two rivers, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. The Bible mentions Shinar 8 times; each reference pointing to Shinar as the location of Babel, the land of Nimrod, the Babylonian kingdom and the city of Babylon.

   The Book of Daniel gives us a tiny glimpse into the ancient city of Babylon as a land of military might, merchants, sorcerers, necromancers, enchanters and idol worshippers.

Seven Heads of the Beast Revelation 13

   1) "And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast (kingdom) rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2) And the beast that I saw was like unto a 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 (throne) and great authority. 3) And I saw one of his heads as it were (slain) wounded to death,(εσφαγμενην), and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." 

   John is instructed to record a series of events: the things which he had seen, the things that are, and the things which shall be hereafter: Revelation 1:19. After the seven letters to the seven churches, a door opens in heaven and John is taken up in the spirit. The large majority of the things recorded in Revelation consists of futuristic events, that extend far beyond John's world, to the end of the age. These events transpire during the last seven years of human history and move the reader forward, into the the time of the end and, the second coming of Yeshua HaMashiach. 

  We are told that Revelation is full of prophetic symbolic imagery and it's hard to understand so, we expect to be confounded and confused. We were told how scripture should be interpreted and now, we hold onto centuries-old interpretations for dear life and pass them on, conditioning future generations with several flawed interpretations. One of these flawed interpretations is the theory, that the seven heads of the beast, are the seven hills of Rome, moving the fourth beast, the antichrist-tribulation kingdom back in time - and, into Europe.