In Revelation 17:3, John saw a woman seated upon a scarlet-colored beast which had seven heads and ten horns. In this study, we will find that the seven heads of the beast correspond to seven universal attempts of Satan to control the world. They represent a combination of world-dominating political and religious powers that have warred against the people of God since ancient Babylon, and will continue to do so until the coming of Christ.

Revelation 17

The original idea of a creature having seven heads and ten horns is found in Revelation 12:3 where John saw "a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." In verse 9 we are told the identity of that dragon: "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan."

The great red dragon pictured here having seven heads and ten horns represents Satan. Notice the last phrase in verse 3, "and seven crowns upon his heads." A head portrayed wearing a crown conveys a connection with civil power. The seven crowned heads represent seven consecutive world powers through which Satan would attempt to control the world. Verse 4 identifies the power he worked through during the time period of this vision.

PAGAN ROME IDENTIFIED AS ONE OF THE SEVEN CROWNED HEADS

At the birth of Jesus, Herod, appointed king of Judea by the Roman Senate in 40 BC, ordered the death of all male children two years of age and younger in an attempt to put Christ to death at His birth (Matt. 2:16). It was Roman soldiers that eventually nailed Jesus to the cross. In Revelation 12, Satan worked through the political power of Pagan Rome. Thus, Pagan Rome is identified as one of the crowned heads of the dragon. (See study on Revelation 12.)

As we travel through history, the seven heads rise and fall with the powers they represent. In the dragon of Revelation 12 and the composite beast of Revelation 13, we see Rome in its two phases each having seven heads and ten horns.

A CONTINUATION OF ROME IS SEEN IN THE HEAD THAT WAS WOUNDED

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," (A striking similarity to the dragon in chapter 12) "and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."

Rev. 13:2: "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: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority."

Rev. 13:3: "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast."

Verse one depicts this composite sea beast as having "seven heads." In verse three, one of those seven heads received a "deadly wound." We recognize the wound to this head as the wound inflicted by French General Berthier with the capture of the pope and subsequent loss of his civil power in AD 1798. (See study of Rev. 13, part 1.) Between Revelation chapter 12 and chapter 13 occurs a change of heads on the beast. In chapter 12, Pagan Rome was head number four; in chapter 13, Papal Rome is head number five. The seven heads are consecutive, one head existing at a time.

Imagine if you will, a rag puppet having seven heads. Imagine also, Satan as the puppeteer. As Satan places his hand inside one of the heads, that head comes to life. In time he moves his hand to another head and works through it. Satan is the real power that motivates the heads. What happened in actual history is that the beast had seven heads…one head at a time… in power.

ROME CONTINUES TO THE END

The 16^th chapter of Revelation depicts seven angels holding seven vials containing the seven last plagues. In Revelation 17, one of the angels commissioned to carry out the seven last plagues directs John to view the judgment of the great harlot.

Rev.17: 1 "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters."

The great whore represents Satan’s counterfeit religious system; "that sitteth upon many waters." The angel explains, "the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" Rev. 17:15. This system enjoys a worldwide support base.

Rev. 17:2: "With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication."

World leaders, "…the kings of the earth…" have "committed fornication" with this great apostate power. This immoral union of church and state is responsible for the deaths of millions of God’s followers throughout history. "The wine of her fornication" is the false teachings that have intoxicated the world.

Many principal doctrines of main stream religions today, Protestant and otherwise, have origin in this system. Various doctrines that people hold dear such as Sunday worship, image worship, confession to men rather than Christ, infant baptism, the immortality of the soul, and eternally burning hell are unfounded in Scripture. In this way the entire world has been "made drunk with the wine of her fornication."

Verse 3 holds the key that for centuries has caused this prophecy to be somewhat sketchy.

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."

John relates that one of the plague angels that "talked with me" (in verse one) "carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness." Here is the key. John was physically on the Isle of Patmos (Rev.1: 9). The angel carried him "in the spirit," away from Patmos, to another point in time for the vantagepoint of this vision.

John was also carried away to a point in time in which he saw the reward of the pure woman, Christ’s bride. "There came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God" (Rev. 21: 9, 10). John did not see the holy city descending from the vantage point of Patmos. He was taken in vision, "in the spirit," to a point in time where he actually saw that event.

There are striking similarities between this beast of Revelation 17:3 and the beast of Revelation 13:1, each "having seven heads and ten horns," yet, there are subtle differences. The beast in Revelation 13:1, has the "name of blasphemy" on its seven heads, the seven universal powers. Here in Revelation 17 the entire beast is "full of names of blasphemy." At the end of time it is not just those seven powers, but a world confederation given to blasphemy.

Rev. 17:4: "The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abomination and filthiness of her fornication:"

The pure woman of Revelation 12:1, representing God’s true church, was dressed in radiant light, "clothed with the sun." Have you heard the expression, "simply beautiful?" It’s more than a cliché; it’s an actual description. There is nothing more beautiful than simple beauty. Diamonds are most exquisite when displayed on a background of pure white. The woman of Revelation 12, being clothed in light stands in sharp contrast to this woman gaudily dressed in purple and scarlet and "decked with gold and precious stones and pearls."

For everything God made, Satan has made a counterfeit. Only a careful student of the Bible is able to distinguish between the genuine and the false. This apostate woman lacks the beauty of character found in the pure woman of Rev. 12:1, yet she has deceived nearly the whole world into thinking she has the truth.

The "golden cup in her hand" is most intriguing. One would naturally assume the contents of a golden cup to be desirable. But on the contrary, John says the cup is "full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication." Satan’s studied purpose is deception. He makes it appear as though this system has pure truth, but instead the cup is full of abominations and filthiness of her falsehoods.

Rev. 17:5 "Upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

Mystical Babylon is figurative of what ancient Babylon represented: false religion and opposition to God’s people. At the end of time, this great apostate religious system is more than Rome. Babylon the Great represents a confederation of apostate religions worldwide. It represents all false religion, mother and daughters. In the end it will be the daughters who force the world to drink the contents of Babylon’s cup. (See study of Rev. 13, part 2.) The ecclesiastical bonding among nearly all religions is part of a scheme to allow such religious intolerance to develop. This false system will include all who trample the precepts of God’s holy law. Carefully read the following to learn where the end result of such ecclesiastical bonding might lead:

The publication of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission entitled "The Gift of Authority" states: "Within his wider ministry, the bishop of Rome offers a specific ministry concerning the discernment of truth… We believe that this is a gift to be received by all the churches. Such a universal primate (leader of all churches) will exercise leadership in the world and also in both communions, addressing them in a prophetic way." Review, June 17, 1999.

GOD HAS PEOPLE IN THIS SYSTEM AND THEY ARE BEING CALLED OUT!

There are many in this system that know and love Jesus. In Revelation 18 a call is made for God’s people to separate from the errors of human traditions and false teachings. Seven times in Scripture God calls His people to separate from Babylon. This is the final call. Family and church affiliations will be powerless to keep His people from obeying His voice. "And they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd" John 10:16. "Come forth and flee…Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon" Zech. 2:6, 7.

Rev. 17:6: "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration."

This woman is responsible for the bloodshed of martyrs throughout all ages. When John saw her, he was astonished at what he saw.

Rev. 17:7: "The angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns."

The Key to Solving the Riddle:

Rev. 17:8: "The beast thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the 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."

"The beast thou sawest was, (past tense) and is not; (present tense) and shall ascend (future tense)." The angel told John that the beast in verse three had been in existence (538 - 1798), but while he is seeing it, the beast has lost its connection with civil power, but at some future time, it will "ascend out of the bottomless pit."

The only beast in Scripture that had existed before, having seven heads and ten horns and that would ascend to power again, was the leopard-like beast of Revelation 13:3. "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death: and his deadly wound was healed:" The beast of Revelation 17 is the Papal beast of Revelation 13:1-10 with his deadly wound healed.

We can now establish exactly the point in time to which John was taken. Since he saw the beast in its "is not" state, he was taken to a time "after" 1798 and "before" the beast returns to power.

The beast that John saw in verse 3 will ascend "out of the bottomless pit." When used with reference to intelligent beings, the Greek word "abussos," translated "bottomless pit," seems to imply isolation from other beings and the inability to escape from the situation (Rev. 9:2,11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1,3).

In Revelation 20:2, Satan was "cast into the bottomless pit, and shut up…till the thousand years should be fulfilled." Verse 7 says, "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his [prison]." The "bottomless pit" is a symbolic way of showing that Satan’s activities will cease during the thousand years.

Of the Papal beast we read, "he that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity" (Rev. 13:10). John is simply seeing the beast of Revelation 13 (papacy) go into a prison-like state, and the beast of Revelation 17 (restored papacy) coming out of that imprisonment.

Verse 9: "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."

The only reference in Scripture similar to this is found in Revelation 13:8 and also refers to the papal power. "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred and threescore and six." Special "wisdom" will be needed in understanding Satan’s final plan of deception. If anyone lacks wisdom, "let him ask God, that giveth to all men liberally" (James 1:5).

"The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth." In verse 3 the woman was sitting upon the beast. Here the woman sits upon the seven heads. The Bible doesn’t make a distinction between the heads and the beast. The head is the thinking part of the beast and the heads have changed throughout history. When a head rises to prominence it represents the next universal attempt of Satan working through both civil and religious power to control the world.

A mountain often represents a religiously controlled government, either of heaven or earth. Daniel 2:34 - 35, describes Christ’s eternal kingdom as a great mountain, "a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet…and broke them to pieces…and the stone… became a great [mountain], and filled the whole earth." The great Babylonian empire was called a "destroying [mountain]," Jer. 51: 24 -25. (See also: Isaiah 2: 2 - 3; Isaiah 65:25; Eze. 17:22, 23)

Verse 10: "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other has not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."

"And there are seven kings." Some translations render, "they are also seven kings." Literally, "the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth" and "seven kings are they." The "mountains" and "kings" each represent individual aspects of these seven world powers. (In Rev. 12:3, the seven heads have crowns indicating their connection with civil power.)

John could have said, "the seven heads are seven kings." Why did he say the heads are mountains and kings? John not only saw civil powers coming down, but he also saw the influence of religion in each of these governments. The "heads" represent the world controlling powers through which Satan would work. "Mountains" depict the religious aspect and "kings" the civil power of governments." Examples can be found in every kingdom in which Satan used a combination of church/state power to persecute God’s people. If a religious power has no connection with civil power, it has no "ability" to persecute. If a civil power has no connection with church power it has no "desire" to persecute. Satan must work through this church/state union.

Here’s the riddle: "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other has not yet come:" There are seven kings altogether, but, "five are fallen," the sixth "one is," and the seventh one "has not yet come".

In order to establish which five have fallen, it is imperative to know the point in time to which John was taken in vision. The clue is found in the "present tense" of the verb.

The "five" that "are fallen" prior to 1798 are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Pagan Rome, and Papal Rome.

"AND ONE IS…" A NEW MANIFESTATION OF SATANIC POWER

Following 1798 the "beast from the bottomless pit" of Revelation 11 emerged as a world controlling power. Many students of Bible prophecy recognize the atheistic philosophy and ideas first fostered during the Revolution in France as the power arising at the end of the 1260 years of papal supremacy.

Revelation 11:3: "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophecy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth."

The two witnesses are God’s Word, the Old and the New Testament. (See study on Revelation 11.)

Revelation 11:7: "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."

The period when the two witnesses were to prophesy clothed in sackcloth ended in 1798. As they were finishing their testimony, "the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, overcome them and kill them."

Why did the two witnesses prophesy "clothed in sackcloth" until 1798? In verse 3, the two witnesses prophesied clothed in sackcloth for 1260 days when Bibles were literally chained to church walls and were not available for study by the common people. This period began in AD 538 and continued until 1798.

The four beasts in Daniel 7 came from the sea, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. In Revelation 13, the papal beast also came from the sea (vs. 1) and the two-horned beast came from the earth (vs.11). The earth and the sea are tangible places. This beast of Revelation 11 came from a "bottomless pit." How does one describe a bottomless pit? It’s nebulous, mystical, without a foundation; it’s a philosophy, or theory. In 1798, the world was expanding. No longer could a centralized government be used to control the world. Satan, instead, introduced a philosophy that world engulf the world.

Rev. 11:8, "And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified."

These symbols are figurative, because "Sodom" was nonexistent in 1798. This verse is speaking of a power that would have characteristics of Sodom. Sodom represents the depths of moral degradation of mankind (Gen. 19:4 - 11). It was an extremely wicked power that came from the bottomless pit.

The power that arose would also have characteristics of "Egypt." Over the centuries Egypt has been a symbol of atheism and rebellion against God. No earthly monarch has stood in more open rebellion against the God of Heaven than did Pharaoh. When Moses asked him in the name of Jehovah to let His people go, Pharaoh answered, "Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go." (Exodus 5:2) The power that arose in France, likewise, denied the existence of God.

"Around the same time that Darwin proclaimed his evolutionary theory, another (atheistic) leader arose: Karl Marx. Marx readily accepted Darwin’s Origin of Species and united his own philosophies with it. Soon Marx’s ideas spread and found a stronghold in Russia with the communist revolution" (Ibid.). What emerged eventually became known as godless communism. Atheistic communism dominated huge masses of the world’s population and remained a mortal enemy of the papacy until its collapse in December of 1991.

Daniel 11:40 pictures a sudden turn of events. The papal power connects with the civil power of the United States and causes the demise of atheism as a world-dominating power, just as the Bible predicted 2500 years before.

Daniel 11:40, "And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over."

For a more complete study of this verse, see comment on Daniel 11:40.

"King of the north" - A careful study of Daniel 7, 8 and Revelation 13 help us to recognize the final king of the north in verses 30 - 39 of Daniel 11 as the apostate church of the Dark Ages, the medieval papacy.

"King of the South"- In the original Greek, the "king of Egypt" and the "king of the south" are interchangeable. Egypt is spiritually or figuratively a symbol for atheism.

"Chariots, horsemen" - Depict military might.

"Many ships" - Used to describe an economic trade, commerce, or pressures brought against the king of the south.

"The time of the end" - The end of the 1260 years, or 1798, marks the beginning of the time of the end.

Prophetic interpretation - In Old Testament times, a literal application is made when interpreting Bible prophecy. In New Testament times, Bible prophecy is given a spiritual application. Example: In ancient times Babylon stood in opposition to God and was the seat of false religion. In modern times literal Babylon doesn’t exist, therefore references to Babylon in the New Testament are a symbolism of Babylon of old; false religion.

Since Daniel 11 spans the history of the world from Daniel’s day until the Second Coming of Christ, we have a literal interpretation of this prophecy up until the death of Christ. When the prophecy extends into the New Testament period, a more symbolic interpretation is applied. Because verse 40 deals with "the time of the end," these symbolisms are to be understood with the New Testament application.

These are last day events because Daniel refers to them as being "at the time of the end." The present day "king of the North" and "king of the South" are political entities that identify with the former kingdoms.

Now we read: "At the time of the end (1798), shall the king of the south (atheism) push at him: and the king of the north (papacy) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, (depicting military might) and with many ships (depicting economic trade or pressure); and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over." Dan. 11:40

The Bible foretold that atheism, as a world power, would suffer defeat due to economic control. "But He (papacy) shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt (atheism)" Dan. 11:43. Nearly the whole world has recognized the papacy as responsible for engineering the economic collapse of our modern atheistic movement (USSR). Holy Alliance, How Reagan and the Pope conspired to assist Poland’s Solidarity movement and hasten the demise of Communism. Time, Feb. 24, 1992. "The Pope" Holy Alliance, Dateline, NBC News, Sept. 22, 1996.

Atheism was the power that ascended "out of the bottomless pit" in Revelation 11. It worked through France during the French Revolution, and in modern times through godless communism. In December of 1991, with the downfall of the Soviet Union, the backbone of atheism as a world-dominating power was broken.

AMERICA TAKES THE LEAD

Rev. 17:10: "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other has not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."

With the downfall of the atheistic beast the United States has stepped into its prophetic role as the unrivaled superpower of the world. For the first time in history, the United States is in the position to fulfill its role as foretold in Revelation 13:11, "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon." With the downfall of the USSR, world leaders referred to George Bush as the "president of the world," and Washington as "the new Rome."

Founded upon the principle of the separation of church and state, the United States has been the cradle of religious freedom for the past 200 years. However, following with the downfall of atheism, there has been a swing to the "far right." Today thought leaders are emerging who believe that religion must be legislated in an effort to bring God back into society. As church and state unite, America becomes the universal power represented by the "seventh head." "The seven heads (universal powers) are seven mountains, on which the woman (church) sitteth" Rev. 17:9, last part. Scripture makes a point of saying the United States will continue a "short space" in its dragon phase. (See study of Revelation 13, part 2.)

The Greek word, "oligos", translated "short space" is translated in other Scripture as "a while, little time, season." This seventh king (United States) is the only one with any duration of time mentioned. Interestingly, Babylon lasted nearly 70 years and no mention of the length of its reign was recorded in this prophecy.

Verse 11: "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition."

This seems to be a contradiction of terms. How can there an "eighth" head on a seven-headed beast? The angel is focusing on the time when the death stroke inflicted upon the Papal beast in 1798 is fully healed (Rev. 13:3). Since this beast has only seven heads, this "eighth" is simply the papal head, number five restored. This papal beast has been in this line up of powers before, hence, he is part "of the seven."

A careful comparison of verses 8 and 10 establishes the time for the appearance of the eighth head. The papal beast "shall ascend" when the United States enters its "short space" of undisputed world power. In the short space since the break up of the USSR (1992), the "ascending" has taken place with speed that has caused the world to "wonder." Within the duration of the short space the wound will be fully healed.

During the 1990’s the world witnessed a shift in power of the heads of the beast. Head number six (atheism) has fallen to head number seven (United States), and the eight head (restored papacy) is now emerging.

Each of these seven heads has caused the demise of the power before it. However, civil strength is always given to the Papacy (Dan 8:24; Rev. 13:2,5,7; 17:13). Note how these powers follow in succession.