17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and
said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute,
who sits on many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery
and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her
adulteries."
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me
This angle might be the 7th angle. Why means if we see
the Rev.16:19
Rev.16:19 And the great city was divided into three
parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in
remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness
of his wrath.
The Babylon was remembered by God and it was destroyed by God.
Intro
Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute
Revelation 16 described the fall of Babylon the great. We noticed
in chapter 13 that the beast called Babylon the great refers to the Roman
Empire that ruled from approximately 27 BC to 476 AD. Chapters 17 and 18 of
Revelation reveal the details of the collapse of the Roman Empire.
Symbolic
representation
John can’t tell directly about the Rome’s nature, because he was in
prison so he indirectly referring the Rome as Babylon. John is using the
general term Babylon and not specifically Rome so it does not just apply to
those times but extends forward in time to cover all future ungodly empires of
which the Roman is his current example, but reaching its climax with the empire
of the antichrist.
Who is
this Women ?
The
image of the great prostitute sitting on many waters immediately indicates for
us what the great prostitute represents. The harlot/prostitute image is used of
wicked cities by the Old Testament prophets. Ninevah (Nahum 3:4),
Nag. 3:4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms
of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations
through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.
and Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:15) are a few cities that are
called harlots because of their great immoralities.
who sits
on many waters.
This
great harlot in Revelation 17:1
is described as “sitting on many waters.”
Verse 15 tells us what this image means. “The waters that you saw,
where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and
languages.” The great harlot is the city that is ruling over
the peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages of the earth. Therefore, the
wicked city in view is Rome. This fits our context well. Remember that the
angel is explaining the details of the judgment in the seven bowls of wrath.
The seven bowls of wrath were judgments against the Roman Empire, the beast. It
would not make sense to see the great prostitute as another worldly city.
Rather, the city of Rome is the heart of the problem and the center of the
immorality and idolatry. This is the image of verse 2 concerning the great
prostitute. She is the one whom “the kings of the earth have
committed sexual immorality and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the
dwellers on earth have become drunk.” We have noted throughout
this study that sexual immorality is a symbol for the idolatry that is being
committed (Hosea 4:11-12; Ezekiel 6:9;
Ezekiel 16:15-17; Revelation 2:14,20).
Worshiping
trees
They sacrifice upon
the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and
poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof
is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your
spouses shall commit adultery.
Worshiping
Idols
And they that escape
of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried
captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed
from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they
shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their
abominations.
Thou hast also taken
thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest
to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual
immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is
idolatry.
O thou
that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
Notice
that Revelation 17:2 is the
same description that was given in Revelation 14:8. “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all
nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality” (Revelation
14:8 ESV). This is Rome that has been causing the world to
worship the emperor and be involved in idolatry. Therefore, we know the great
prostitute is the city of Rome and the beast is the empire that Rome ruled. The
rest of this chapter is going to give us the details about these two entities
and their coming judgment.
“You shall have no other
gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any
likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve
them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who
hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep
my commandments.
Jocob 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not
that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will
be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Eze 6:8-9 (NIV) "...How I have been grieved by
their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes,
which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil
they have done and for all their detestable practices."
Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into
the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of
names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
We already discussed about the 7 heads and 10
horns in many times.
Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and
behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it
had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue
with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before
it; and it had ten horns.
Rev 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.
Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and
saw a beast 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.
Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the
wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names
of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
DANIEL 7
Daniel describes the
Fourth Beast Kingdom which is yet to come.
From the time of Daniel’s prophecies three beast kingdoms rose to power,
they were Babylon, Media-Persia and Greece. When the fourth and final beast
kingdom comes it will usher in the rise of the Antichrist. The Antichrist will
be destroyed by the Second Coming of Christ. Let’s read how it is
written.
Till
will be done in end time
And the vision of the evening and the
morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall
be for many days.
Appointed Time
Dan 8:19 He said: "I am going to
tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision
concerns the appointed time of the end.
4th
beast
Daniel not able to
describe the forth beast image, because of that he mentioned as it was “exceeding dreadful”(Dan 7:19). But God revealed
about this 4th beast very clearly (rev 13:1)
Then I would know the truth of the
fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose
teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass;
which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
And the beast which 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:
Who is the 4th beast?
The rise
of the Antichrist from the Fourth Beast Kingdom.
When the final beast
kingdom arises it will begin with ten kings. Then another king will come
up among the ten and subdue three kings. This king is the
antichrist. When the Antichrist has subdued the three kings, the Fourth
Beast Kingdom will then have “seven heads and ten horns.”
Let’s read how it is written.
Dan 7:23 The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that
will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will
devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.
Dan 7:24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come
from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the
earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.
How the 4th Kingdom coming into the power?
Power given by satan
Dan 8:24a " He will become very strong, but not
by his own power.
(Rev 13:2b) and the dragon gave him his power, and
his seat, and great authority.
Fighting with Holy People
Dan 8:24a He will cause astounding devastation and
will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy
people.
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall
wear out the saints of the most High.
Rev,
13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Blasphemy
Dan 8:25a He
will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior.
Dan 7:25A And he shall speak great words against the
most High.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy
against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in
heaven.
Rev 17:3 “full of names of blasphemy”
The Seven Kingdoms of Revelation 17
Let’s return to the
mystery of “the beast which has the seven heads and ten horns.”
What can we learn
about the seven heads?
The seven heads are
seven mountains on which the woman
sits (Revelation 17:9).
Meaning of Mountain
: A kingdom, authority or rule
Psalm 30:7
LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou
didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
Satan always make duplicate
Example
2 Cor. 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is
transformed into an angel of light.
In the same way God wants to establish His kingdom on
the mountain, from there all the nations. In the same way satan also try to
duplicate it
Isaiah 2:2 And
it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain (kingdom) of the
LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
About a woman
Rev 17:2 So he carried me away in the spirit into the
wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names
of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Last week we
discussed about the woman. It is symbolic representation or city.
Conclusion
So the city of
antichrist is ruling midst of 7 mountains with the help of 10 kings and his
kingdom was against kingdom of heaven.
Rev. 17:4 - The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was
glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her
hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries –
These two colours are
very important colours for God. This colour refer the richness, We can see these two colours in
Old Testament in many place.
purple
The most precious of ancient dyes made from a shellfish found in
the Mediterranean Sea. A total of 250,000 mollusks was required to make one
ounce of the dye, which partly accounts for its great price. It was highly
valued within the nation of Israel.
Used in several features of the tabernacle (Exodus 26:1, 27:16) and the temple (II Chronicles 2:14); the color of royal robes (Judges 8:26); the garments of the wealthy (Proverbs 31:22; Luke 16:19); the vesture of a harlot (Revelation 17:4); and the robe placed on Jesus (Mark 15:17, 20).
scarlet
·
Royalty
(Daniel 5:7,16, 29, Matthew 27:28, Mark 15:17, 20, John 19:2)
·
The
power to rule like a king (Revelation 17:4)
·
A
person's sins and sinfulness (Isaiah 1:18)
·
Prosperity
(2Samuel 1:14, Proverbs 31:21, Lamentations 4:5, Revelation 18:12, 16)
·
Dedicated
to opposing God (Revelation 17:3)
·
Isa
1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, said the Lord: though your sins be
as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.
1.
Offering
(Ex 25:4)
2.
tabernacle with ten curtains (Ex. 26:1)
Luke 16:19 There was a
certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared
sumptuously every day:
Her wealth was also indicated by the fact that she glittered with
gold and precious stones and pearls,
(Rev 18:16 )And
saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and
purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
Cup
Jer. 51:7 Babylon
hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth
drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of
the Father, but is of the world.
Purple and scarlet cloth was very expensive and would only be worn
by the rich (see the rich man in Lk 16:19).
Her wealth was also indicated by the fact that she glittered with gold and
precious stones and pearls, see also the description of Tyre in Ezek 27:22. The merchants in Rev 18:16 describe the great city as
'dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious
stones and pearls.' It should be noted that she was 'glittering with gold,
precious stones and pearls' and therefore has some similarity with the New
Jerusalem who is also described as being made of pure gold, decorated with
every kind of precious stone and pearls (21:18-21)
she is therefore an earthly copy of the new Jerusalem the city of God, she is a
counterfeit, Satan copies what God creates (xxxx).
In 17:18 the woman is described as the great city that rules over
the kings of the earth which is an allusion to the Rome of John’s day. The Rome
of the day was very wealthy and extravagant. Pearls were especially liked and
to show off their wealth people would dissolve a very precious pearl in wine
and then drink it (Barclay). In verse 2 we found that ‘the inhabitants of the
earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries’ now we see the gold cup
in her hand from which the people drank which was ‘filled with abominable
things and the filth of her adulteries’. The woman has the allure of being
attractive but her golden cup is full of filth, Jer
51:7. The gold cup looks attractive from the outside and
succeeds in enticing men away from God, who thereby become filthy. John is
describing the spirit of the world and 'all that glitters'. He sees her as God
sees her, as she really is. The world and its allure are described by John in 1 John 2:16 'For everything in the
world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of
what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world'. Some also
point out that purple and scarlet is the ecclesiastical dress of the Roman
Church, which on occasions also involves glittering jewel and of course the
gold cup. The ecclesiastical side to the whore is also found in verse 6 where
she is drunk with the blood of the saints. In her hand is a golden cup, another
symbol of luxury and wealth, from which one would expect a pure and delightful
drink. But instead it is ‘full of abominations, even the unclean things of her
fornications’(xxxx). ‘These summarise the detestable things of her idol
worship, her vices and corruptions which the world offers and by which it would
seduce mankind.
The world may serve its drink in a golden cup, but what it offers
is abominable in the
sight of God, and leads to degradation and death (Prov 9:13-18). It contains all that
appeals to he lust of the flash, lust of the eyes, pride of life, but it
results in base and filthy consequences. Although Babylon offers the cup to the
world, in turn she becomes a golden cup in the hand of God to madden the
nations (Jer 51:7). She holds
in her hand the cup of her own self-destruction as the consequences of her sins
are turned back upon her (cf. v. 16)’, (see Hailey). The root of her
abominations is idolatry (Deu 7:25, 2 Pet 4:3).
A contemporary example of the cup of the world’s filth is the television which
shows many things which in God’s eyes are an abomination; ‘what is highly valued
among men is detestable in God’s sight’ (Luke
16:15). Caird points out that the Gk word bdelygma (obsenity)
is the same word used of 'abomination of desolation (Mk 13:14).
Jesus used the metaphor of a cup to describe the Pharisees who
looked righteous from
the outside (they cleaned the outside of the cup) but inside they
were full of greed and self-indulgence (Mat
23:25). He also used the metaphor of a cup to describe his own
suffering in which he had to drink from the cup that God gave him (Mat 26:39, John 18:11), in communion we
also drink from a cup to remind ourselves of his suffering when he drank the
Fathers cup to the full (1 Cor 11:25)
so that we might not have to drink the cup of God’s wrath. The gold cup
contains those things, which seduce and entice men away from God, the cup
promises pleasure, power and riches but drinking from her cup results in
destruction. God’s way is to drink the cup of self-denial and its drink results
in eternal
filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries
Due. 7:25
The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not
desire the silver or gold that is on
them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou
be snared therein: for it is an
abomination to the LORD thy God
1 Pet. 4:3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the
will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine,
revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
Rev. 17:5 - This title was written on her forehead MYSTERY
BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE
EARTH. –
Her name
reveals her true character. This introduces the woman as Babylon, that great
city. Babylon has already been mentioned by the second angel in 14:8 and in the
seventh bowl in which a great earthquake split the great city (Babylon) in
three parts, Babylon the great is then introduced. Babylon is also mentioned
more figuratively as 'Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified' (Rev 11:8). There we find a definition of
Babylon consisting of immorality, cruelty and persecution. Cities concentrate
all that is worse among humanity. Babylon is identified as the great city in
18:10 and she is described as the city of power. The woman is also clearly
identified by the angel as the great city in 17:18
'The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth'.
In 18:17 she is described as having great wealth. She is called the mother of
prostitutes, she spawns and multiplies those who are unfaithful to God (Prov 23:27). A mother produces more of her
kind. A prostitute will sell her body for money, Babylon sold its soul for
wealth and power, (Mat 16:26
'What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his
soul?'). The word mystery should not be part of the name. Mystery in the
biblical sense means something unknown to the uninitiated but will be obvious
to those who are initiated. The mystery is revealed by the angel later starting
in verse 7. Other groups have names on their forehead, those who have the mark
of the beast, 13:16, 14:9, the
144,000 who have their Father’s name written on their forehead, 14:1, 22:4. A number of authors point
out that Roman prostitutes wore on their brows labels inscribed with their
names (Morris).
According to
Horton the name ‘Babylon’ is the Greek form of the Hebrew Babel, which is derived from the Hebrew balal, ‘to confuse’, which produced the noun Balbel, which evolved so that the first l was assimilated into the second b (see Gen 11:9).
The Greeks typically added endings on names, so they changed it to Babylon.
Babylon was built on the site of Babel, they wanted to build a city with a
tower, Gen 11:4, the tower
represents mans religion of self effort. It also represents the union of
politics and religion. Milligan points out that Babylon means ‘the city of
confusion’, see Gen 11:9. The
woman should be seen as the city of the beast, which is Babylon. The first city
was founded by a murderer, Cain, who did not understand the principles of true
religion which Abel did, Gen 4:17,
Abel recognised that sacrifice was required to please God. There is also the
link with the woman 'wickedness' from Zech
5:6-11 who was transported in a measuring basket to the land of
Babylonia where a house would be built for her there, the implication being
that Babylonia is where all wickedness dwells. In the verse being studied
Babylon the Great is the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the
earth. In 18:23 she is
described as the city who by her magic spell she led all the nations astray. In
14:8 she made all the nations
drink the maddening wine of her adulteries. When the languages of people of
Babel were confused all their wickedness was spread around the world so that
all her religions and idolatry were also spread around the world. The kingdom
of the beast exercises political and religious power as shown in chapter 13,
the beast from the sea (political) and the beast out of the land (religious
power), the original tower of Babel was also a political and religious project.
So the beast is attempting to finish this project and create a kingdom that God
said should not happen. In order to do this the beast uses religion (the image
of the beast) to unify the world whereas formerly the world was unified by one
language.
Rev.
17:6a - I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood
of those who bore testimony to Jesus. –
Not only does
she make others drunk (14:8, 17:2)
but she herself is drunk with the blood of the saints. To be drunk with blood
is a figure for lust for violence. The city is figuratively described as Sodom,
Egypt and Jerusalem in Rev 11:8.
Jerusalem signifies the religion of the Pharisees and Sadducees who kill the
prophets and stone those sent to her as well as crucifying our Lord. She
persecutes the saints, typified by old Jerusalem, which killed the prophets, Mat 23:37, Rev 11:8. Drunk because they do
not know what they are doing, Luke 23:34.
John probably has especially in mind the high priest and chief priests who
crucified Jesus (Rev 11:8 cf. John 19:15),
but not only Jesus was crucified but also his followers will be (Mat 23:34). Rome persecuted the saints
especially during Nero and Domitian's time and later during the reformation.
While it is mostly the wealth and trade of Babylon that is described here there
is a religious side to her as well as she persecutes the saints. She persecutes
them because they do not drink her wine and through their lives they condemn
her. She sits on the beast who himself wages war against the saints (13:7) and in this respect she allies
herself to him and carries out his work who is in turn carrying out the work of
Satan who is making war against those who obey God’s commandments (12:17).
Rev.
17:6b - When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. - John's astonishment is
because he sees the woman
riding the hideous beast, and he sees the allure of the world as it really is.
He was in the Spirit at the time and so he saw the spiritual reality, he saw
her as God sees her, may God open our spiritual eyes also.
29.2. The
mystery of the woman and the beast explained (17:7).
Rev.
17:7 - Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain
to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven
heads and ten horns. –
John is
astonished at the woman and the beast, the angel gently rebukes John, and
explains the mystery of the woman and beast. This probably raises more problems
than it solves. The angel describes the beast at length first because he is
more important, the woman's fall is described at length later. The beast is the
one from the sea, Rev 13:1,
and on which the woman sits, Rev 17:3.
Rev. 17:8a - The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and
will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. –
The beast,
which you saw - is the beast from 17:3. The description of the beast who 'once
was, now is not, and will come' is in
contrast to God who is, and who was, and who is to come (Rev 1:4, 1:8, 4:8). The career of the beast
parodies that of the lamb for the lamb descends from heaven and returns to
heaven while the beast ascends from the Abyss and then descends into it.
Therefore he can be regarded as 'an', or 'the', antichrist, anti does not mean against but the
antithesis (opposite) or instead of, he is a counterfeit. John defines him as
the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ (1
John 2:22) and Paul says that: ‘He will oppose and will exalt
himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets
himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God’ (2 Thess 2:4). The beast 'now is not'
meaning that he is not currently on the world scene which anticipates his
future appearance and is therefore a warning to the church, likewise verse 10
places them in the reign of a sixth king. The beast comes out of the Abyss and
goes back to his destruction in the Abyss then hell; this emphasises the
Satanic nature of the beast coming as he does from the pit of hell and
receiving his authority from Satan (13:2 cf.
9:1, 9:11, 11:7, 20:3). This could be a reference to Nero who
once was, now is not (he committed suicide), and will come again, a reference
perhaps to renewed persecution under Domitian. It is more likely to refer to
the final antichrist or the man of lawlessness who is doomed to destruction (2 Thess 2:3) of which Nero and Domitian
would be types. In Rev 13:3 we
find that the beast had a fatal wound which had been healed.
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Rev. 17:8 b- will come up out of the Abyss - See Rev 11:7 when the two witnesses have finished their
testimony then the beast that comes out of the Abyss will attack and
overpower them. He is the same beast that makes war against the saints and
conquers them (13:7). He
comes out of the Abyss, which is the abode of demons. The fact that he comes
out of the Abyss links him to Satan who is the angel of the Abyss, 9:11.
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Rev. 17:8c - go to his destruction - He will be thrown into the lake of fire, along with the false
prophet and later Satan, see Rev 19:20.
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Rev. 17:8 - The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not
been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be
astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet
will come. –
John was
astonished when he saw the woman. The world will be astonished when they see
the beast, see also Rev 13:3
in which the world was astonished at the fatal wound that had been healed. This
could be a reference to the Nero redivivus myth in which Domitian would be seen
as Nero resurrected. There is something about the reappearance of the beast
that astonishes the world, probably because it will be so unexpected. Just as
the Second Coming of Christ will be unexpected, it will surprise the world who
will mourn his coming. But the saints whose names are in the book of life will
not be taken in by him, those who know their God will firmly resist him, Dan 11:32.
Revelation 17 : 9 - 11
9 "Here is the mind
which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
10 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.
11 The beast that was, and
is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
There are also seven kings.
Who is the seven kings here John is referring?
So for 6 times
Israelite went under captivities
1. In the Old Testament, Moses lived during the reign of Egypt as a world
power.
2. We read about Isaiah during the time of Assyria as a world power
2 kings 17: 23 until the LORD removed Israel
out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel
was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.
3. Babylon ruled the world during the times of Daniel, Jeremiah and
Ezekiel.
Jer. 25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an
astonishment, an these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
4. Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah lived during the times of Medo-Persian power.
2 Chronicles 36
20 And those who escaped from the sword he carried
away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule
of the kingdom of Persia,
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,
that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD
stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation
throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms
of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to
build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His
people? May the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!
5. The reign of Greece occurred during the silent years between the Old and
New Testaments, when the Septuagint was written (a Greek translation of the
Hebrew Scriptures).
Joel 3
6 Also the
people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem You have sold to the Greeks, That
you may remove them far from their borders.
The above 5
kingdom was finished. But in John’s day the Romans was ruled. Because of that
only John
“one is”
6. And finally, we see Rome as a world power during the time of our Lord
Jesus Christ throughout the New Testament. It is very interesting to see these
6 world powers mentioned throughout the Scriptures, beginning with Egypt and
ending with Rome.
The
Romans conquered Jerusalem in 63 B.C.E. This brought the region under Roman
control, though they used local leaders to govern.
John
11:48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the
Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."
and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a
short time.
7.
The
7th kingdom during the John time not exist. It is the kingdom what
Daniel mentioned in the final kingdom of
Nebukathnesar’s dream. The foot mixture with clay and the iron. Now the
kingdom refers the European Union. We know that very short time the European
union became very power full in this world.
a.
Decision
making,
b.
Currency
c.
Dominating
the rest of the world etc.,
Rev. 17:10 The
beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven,
and is going to perdition.
Beast was
The beast was in the
beginning. Which one is cheated the Adam and Eve.
Is not
When
out Lord Jesus redeemed as from the statan’s power through His blood. In the
grace time the satan not able to prevail the God’s children.
is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven,
The
eighth king will come from the 7th kingdom that is the same satan’s
kingdom, unholy trinity kingdom.
Rev. 12:9 So the great dragon was cast out, that
serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he
was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
, and is going to perdition
10 The devil,
who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast
and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and
ever.
Rev.
17:11 - The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs
to the seven and is going to his destruction. –
The beast is not the seventh king who must remain for a little
while. But he belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction, his
destruction is featured in 19:20 and also in
2 Thess 2:7-8 For the mystery of lawlessness is
already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of
the way.
8 And then the
lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the
brightness of His coming.
Notice the
repetition from verse 8, 'The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and
will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction'. He will reappear in
the future from the pit of hell and go to his destruction. Revelation is
designed to show us the final victory of good over evil. He is the supreme
embodiment of the previous seven kings. Seven stands for completeness not to be
taken literally, eight is one more than seven and eight is the number of Christ
he is the counterfeit of Christ, see 13:18. The beast belongs to this complete
series of seven kings, he once was present in the world, but he is not here
now, but he will appear in the future in a new way. There is some validity in
the concept that he could appear in a revived Roman Empire or even papal
empire. The beast is probably to be identified with the fourth beast of
Daniel 7:23, "Thus he said: ' The fourth beast
shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other
kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces.
The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It
will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth,
trampling it down and crushing it'. His destruction is shown in Dan 7:26, see
also
Dan 11:45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace
between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end,
and no one will help him.
Revelation 17:12-18
12 "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.
13 These are of one mind,
and they will give their power and authority to the beast.
14 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."
15 Then he said to me,
"The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes,
nations, and tongues.
16 And the ten horns which
you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked,
eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
17 For God has put it into
their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their
kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
18 And the woman whom you
saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth."
12 "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.
10 horns = 10 kings
received no
kingdom as yet, - these 10 kingdom was not there during the John’s time. During John’s time period people where ruled
by kings. So only he refer everything as kings. 10 kings received not kingdom
yet means during his time these 10 kingdoms was not there. But our time these
10 kingdom is there. Who are the 10 kingdoms.
1. European Union (EU) –
Nature : which
politically unites a large group of widely nations spread over a large
geographical area and encompassing over 500 million people. Though the EU is
still evolving, it already has many attributes of a federal government, such as
open internal borders, a directly elected parliament, a court system, an
official currency (Euro) and a centralized economic policy.
2. Proposed United Nations Parliamentary Assembly
· The idea was raised at the founding of the League of Nations in the 1920s and again following the
end of World War II in 1945, to control the rise of global trade and the power
of world organization.
·
It
has received the support of over 850 Members
of Parliament from over 90
countries worldwide, in addition to over 350 non-governmental organizations .
3. NATO - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
· Purpose : an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949.
· The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to
mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
· 37 countries participate in NATO's "Partnership for
Peace.
·
The
combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the world's defence spending.
·
4. The African Union (AU)
- Purpose - is an organisation consisting
of fifty-four African states. Established on July 9,
2002. the AU aims to have
a single currency and a single integrated defence force, as well as other
institutions of state.
·
Pupose
: the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located
in Southeast Asia, which was
formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
6. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
–
·
The Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is
an intergovernmental organization which was founded on June 14, 2001 by the leaders
of the People's Republic of
China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
7. Commonwealth of Independent States –
The CIS has few supranational powers, it is more than a purely
symbolic organization, possessing coordinating powers in the realm of trade,
finance, law making, and security. It has also promoted cooperation on democratization and cross-border crime prevention.
8. Arab League -
The Arab League is a regional
organization of Arab states in Southwest Asia, and North and Northeast
Africa. It was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen.
The Arab League currently has 22
members, which also include, Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti,Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. It has also been
proposed to reform the Arab League into an Arab
Union. The Arab League currently is the most important organization in the region.
9. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
· The South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
is an economic and political organization of eight countries in Southern Asia.
· In terms of population, its sphere
of influence is the largest of any regional organization:
· almost 1.5 billion people, the combined population of its member
states. It was established on December 8, 1985 by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan.
· In April 2007, at the Association's 14th summit, Afghanistan became its eighth member.
10. Organisation of Islamic
Co World
government is the notion of a common political authority for all of humanity,
yielding a global government and a single state. Such a government could come
into existence either through violent and compulsory world domination or through peaceful and voluntary supranational union.operation
The Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is an international organisation with a permanent delegation to the United Nations. It groups 57 member
states, from the Middle East, Africa, Central sia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South
Asia. The organization claims it represents the Global Islamic World he
official languages of the organisation are Arabic, English and French.
13 These are of one
mind
· New World Order
Is the notion of a common political authority for all of humanity,
yielding a global government and a single state. Such a government could come
into existence either through violent and compulsory world domination or through peaceful and voluntary supranational union.
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