The Beasts of Revelation
Exposed
What do They Represent?
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Sixth
Head Wounded and Healed
Let us review a portion
of history. In February 1798, the papacy was
almost fatally wounded by Napoleon’s forces.
The power of the church was nearly destroyed when
the pope was expelled from Rome. However, the
church did not die. In 1929, Mussolini restored
Vatican City to the Catholic Church and declared
it a sovereign state. Since that time, the
healing of the deadly wound has made steady
progress toward recovery. Today, the pope is
regarded as a significant figure in world
politics and even more, is considered the most
influential religious leader in the world –
all this in less than 75 years! The point is that
the composite beast rises from the sea, the Bible
says, “the fatal wound had been
healed.” Notice the tense of the verb: past
perfect tense. This means the healing is
completed when the beast rises from the sea.
Therefore, on the basis of the three previous
sentences, I believe that the time is near when
the beast will rise from the sea – because
the fatal wound is healed.
Who
are the Seven Heads?
So far, we have
established one point and asserted one point
about seven heads. The established point is that
each of the seven heads is religious, anti-Christ
– and blasphemous. My asserted point is that
the wounded head is the papacy. However, who are
the other six heads? The answer to this question
is quite simple. First, let us gather all the
data:
- Each
head is described as wearing a
blasphemous name. (Revelation 13:1)
- One
head seemed to receive a fatal wound, but
the fatal wound was healed. (Revelation
13:3)
- The
seven heads are seven hills on which the
woman sits. (Revelation 17:9)
Comment: In
Revelation 17, each head is declared to be seven
mountains or hills (the Greek word ‘oros
is correctly translated as hill or mountain).
This chapter repeats and enlarges some of the
details about the composite beast described in
chapter 13. In chapter 17, however, an evil woman
called a whore is introduced into the story and
she rides the beast. The imagery is direct and
simple – this evil woman will eventually
control the composite beast, much like a rider
controls a powerful horse. Let us focus on the
details concerning the seven heads. Verse 9 says
the seven heads are seven hills (or mountains,
KJV) on which the woman sits. What does this
mean?
Not
Just Any Place
In ancient times, God was
not worshiped “in just any place.”
Today, a church body may look for property they
can afford and if the location and price is
right, a church is built. However, this was not
the case in ancient times. The God of Heaven (as
well as false gods) was worshiped at special
sites called “high places” or holy
places located in the mountains. Notice these
Bible texts (there are many more, but these will
suffice):
Moses, looking forward to
Israel’s future, prophesied the Lord would
select a special place for His temple. As it
turns out, God selected a mountain! Notice first,
the words of Moses: Deuteronomy 12:11
“Then to the place the
Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his
Name – there you are to
bring everything I command you: your burnt
offerings and sacrifices, your titles and special
gifts, and all the choice possessions you have
vowed to the Lord.” About 470 years
later, the Lord identified the specific place:
1 Chronicles 21:18 “Then the angel of the
Lord ordered [the prophet] Gad to tell David to
go up and build an altar to the Lord
on the threshing floor of Araunah the
Jebusite.” About ten years later, 2
Chronicles 3:1 records the following: “Then
Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in
Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had
appeared to his father David. It was on
the threshing floor of Araunah the
Jebusite, the place provided by David.” The
point here, of course, is that God placed His
temple on a mountaintop in a very specific place.
Before Solomon built the
temple, notice where the people worshiped. “The
people, however, were still sacrificing at the high
places, because a temple had not yet
been built for the Name of the Lord. Solomon
showed his love for the Lord by walking according
to the statutes of his father David, except that
he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high
places.” (1 Kings 3: 2,3) Years
later, after Solomon died, Israel’s apostasy
matured. Notice what they did: “They also
set up for themselves high places, sacred
stones and Asherah poles on every high
hill and under every spreading tree.
There were even male shrine prostitutes in the
land; the people engaged in all the detestable
practices of the nations the Lord had
driven out before the Israelites.” (1
Kings 14:23,24)
These few verses explain
why the seven heads are called seven hills (or
mountains). In ancient times, mountains were
believed to be the footstools of God (or gods).
(Exodus 19:12; Psalm 95:5; 1 Chronicles 28:2)
Remember God’s dramatic presence on the
mountains of Sinai, Carmel and Moriah? (Fire came
down and consumed the offerings of Solomon at the
dedication of the temple that was built on Mt.
Moriah.) Therefore, it should not seem strange
that mountains were believed to be footstools of
the gods in ancient times. Many native religions
still believe their gods dwell on the
mountaintops to this very day. God is direct and
to the point – symbolism is both direct and
simple – the seven heads are seven hills.
Even David helps us understand this concept: “I
will lift mine eyes unto the hills, from whence
cometh my help.” (Psalm 121:1 KJV)
Capital Hill
Americans should easily
grasp the concept of describing religious (or
religious authorities) as hills since we refer to
the official building of our lawmakers in
Washington D.C. as Capital Hill. If we
assemble the information that has been studied so
far, the weight of the evidence points to this
conclusion: The seven heads are seven blasphemous
religions systems (or authorities) that people
look up to as having the truth about God.
- They
are also seven kings. (Revelation
17:10)
This part
of the equation is also simple. The seven heads
are seven kings. A king has authority; therefore,
he has a kingdom of subjects. Because each
religious system has authority, it has subjects.
Those who “join” or submit to the
tenants of a religion submit to its laws and
regulations as subjects. Thus, the seven
religious systems of the world can be called
“kings” for they truly have subjects.
- Five
have fallen, one is, the other
has not yet come; but when he does come,
he must remain for a little while.
(Revelation 17:10)
This
verse will support everything presented thus far.
To locate when the five heads are fallen,
we need to decide when the conversation takes
place between John and the angel. The Bible says
this vision came to John on the isle of Patmos
(Revelation 1:9,10). The vision occurred between
A.D.95 and A.D.98. I take the angel’s
statement to be understood to be true as of
that date. This means the five heads were
fallen before A.D. 98. If this is true, a simple
explanation resolves the identity of the seven
heads and satisfies these specifications.
According
to Webster, the term “fallen” is not
limited to “destroyed or collapsed”;
rather, in a larger sense it can mean
“brought down” or demonstrated to be
“false.” If I were Jimmy Bakker,
formerly of the PTL Club, was a fallen
evangelist, the reader would understand that
Jimmy fell from respect and honor by his
wrongdoing. If we go back to the time of A.D.
95-98 and place the angel’s words in
their context of when it was written, we find
a simple solution to solving the mystery within
this verse. When Jesus became flesh and dwelt
among men, five religious systems were
“brought down” or exposed as false.
Thus, five of the seven heads were fallen
in A.D. 95. The ministry and teaching of Jesus
unmasked the vain and foolish teachings of man.
These five religious systems predate the birth of
Jesus:
- Heathenism
- Atheism
- Islam*
- Judaism
- Eastern Mysticism
*The
title “Islam” refers to the Arabic
faith. Although the title today is often
associated with the 6th century A.D.
influence of Mohammed, the title Islam as used
here, identifies the ancient Arabic faith from
which Mohammedan grew. Even though Mohammed is
believed by the Christians to be the founder of
Islam, it must be emphasized that Mohammed did
not invent the Islamic faith. Rather, he united,
organized and expanded the beliefs of nomadic
Arabians. Even though he is considered by Moslems
to be the first, and therefore the greatest of
God’s messengers, Moslems trace the origin
of their faith back to Ishmael and his 12 sons.
Moslems regard Ishmael as the father of their
faith and not Mohammed. (See Genesis 21:13)
These
five religious systems are anti-Christ and were
proven false by the birth of Jesus for the
following basic reasons:
1.
Heathenism is religion apart from the
knowledge of the true God of Heaven. In this
religious system, man creates his own gods
according to fantasy or whim.
2.
Atheism denies the existence of the God of
Heaven and His claims upon man.
3.
Judaism rejects the teachings of Jesus as
the Messiah and seeks salvation through obedience
and ceremonies.
4.
Eastern Mysticism teaches that man can
become God.
5.
Islam also denies that Jesus is the Son of
God and is not the Savior of the world.
Wait,
There are Two More Heads!
John was
also told that one head “is” and one
“is yet to come.” The head or religious
system that had not fallen in John’s day was
Christianity. Understand that what was called
Christianity in New Testament times is now called
Catholicism. John was a charter member of the
group called Christians, a new religious system
that Jesus established about A.D. 30 and this is
why the angel said, “one is” –
meaning the sixth head existed – even though
at that point, it had not yet fallen. However,
history traces and confirms Catholicism’s
fall from the truth and verifies that an almost
fatal wound was inflicted on Catholicism in 1798.
At that time, the Protestant Reformation came of
age and could be identified as the seventh and
final religious system of the world. The angel
told John the seventh head would last for only a
short time. With all things considered,
Protestantism is a “new comer,” in
terms of existence within the religious world,
since it is less than four centuries old. In
contrast, the other six religious systems are
twenty or more centuries old.
Here
They Are
In
summary, to be consistent with everything
presented thus far, it is fair to conclude that
the seven heads represent:
1.
Heathenism
2.
Atheism
3.
Eastern Mysticism
4.
Judaism
5.
Islam
6.
Catholicism
7.
Protestantism
Let me
restate a few important conclusions. There are
seven heads, seven of the same thing. If
the wounded head represents the papacy, then
remaining six heads must also represent religious
systems. They are described as blasphemous, kings
and mountains, and the timing of the angel’s
statement, that “five have fallen, one is
and one is yet to come,” is consistent with
all that the Bible teaches on this topic and is
also compliant with recorded history.
6.
The beast who once was, and now is not,
is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven
and is going to his destruction. (Revelation
17:11)
The
Eighth King will belong to Them!
We will
consider the words, “once was, now is
not” in verse 11 when we discuss the
Lamb-like beast. For now, the focus is on the
seven heads. When Satan physically appears on
Earth claiming to be God, he will “belong”
to the seven religions of the world in the sense
that they will exalt and honor him as God. The
responsibility of exalting the devil as God will
not be the work of politicians, however they will
hasten to comply with the desires of religious
leaders. (Remember, the crowns are horns during
this time.)
The devil
will, by using miracles, signs and wonders,
convince billions of people and their religious
leaders that he is God. Thus, the devil will
become the eighth and greatest king. (Remember,
the seven heads are also kings.) According to 2
Thessalonians 2:4 and Daniel 11:36, the devil
will establish himself over the seven heads and
claim to be their God. He will have the power and
authority to back up his claim, too! The reason
the devil is called the eighth king is
interesting. Remember when the little horn in
Daniel 7 plucked up three horns by the roots? The
little horn became the eighth horn and
ruled over the remaining seven horns with
unchallenged authority. Many people will oppose
the devil’s actions, but they will be
powerless to stop him. Notice what Paul says, “Don’t
let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day
will not come until the rebellion occurs and the
man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to
destruction. He will oppose and will exalt
himself over everything that is called God or is
worshiped, so that he sets himself up in
God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be
God.” (2 Thessalonians 2: 3,4) It is
also appropriate to say that the devil will be
highly successful for a time, appearing to be
invincible, but his throne, authority and power
will be short lived. Jesus guarantees it.
7.
The ten horns you saw are ten kings
who have not yet received a kingdom, but for
one hour will receive authority as kings
along with the beast. (Revelation 17:12)
Horns in
Bible prophecy usually represent kings. Remember
the horns on the ram and goat in Daniel 7?
Although we recognize the little horn of Daniel 7
to be more than one man, it can be said
that the papacy was a “type of king”
who ruled over the people of the Dark Ages. A
horn is an ancient symbol representing a powerful
entity. (Zechariah 1:18,19; Luke 1:69) The ten
horns on the composite beast represent ten kings.
These ten kings are also symbolized by the ten
toes of Daniel 2 (see verses 42-44) who will give
their authority over to the devil after he has
conquered the world during the six-trumpet war.
Since the devil will be regarded as God by
billions of people, the seven religious systems
will fully unite with the devil, supporting him
in his establishment of a one-world
church-government. The devil will claim to be
king of kings (government) and lord of lords
(church). The establishment of a one-world
church/government requires the dissolution of all
seven religions. In other words, religious
diversity must come to an end because God lives
among men! This consolidation of the world’s
religions into one global church/government is
called “an image to the beast” in
Revelation 13 and is also identified as a whore
in Revelation 17. In other words, the composite
beast (seven heads/ten horns) will no longer need
to exist because “God” lives among men
– commanding in all matters of religion and
government. This new one-world church/government
will resemble the composite beast that used
religious and political powers to oppress the
people. It makes absolute sense to call this new
global church/government of the devil “an
image” of the [composite] beast. The
essential difference between the beast and the
image to the beast is consolidation. The beast is
diverse having seven religions and ten kings. The
image is singular – one religion –
ruler over all.
Obviously,
not everyone is going to be pleased with the
course of events taking place at this time.
Remember, the 144,000 have been proclaiming truth
during this period of time. Therefore, the devil
will enable and empower civil authorities to put
to death anyone who refuses to “worship the
image.” The civil authorities will be
“puppets” that carry out the evil
schemes of the devil.
The Bible
does not name or identify the ten kings that will
appear, but I believe these kings will be
promoted to the position during the sixth trumpet
war. However, the Bible provides very little
information about them. We do know this much:
“They have one purpose and will give
their power and authority to the beast.
They will make war against the Lamb, but
the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of
lords and King of kings – and with him will
be called, chosen and faithful followers.”
(Revelation 17:13,14)
Returning
to the Identity of the Composite Beast
So far, we have
established five primary points. They are:
1.
The composite beast will be a world government.
2.
The composite beast consists of the world’s
religious and political systems.
3.
The composite beast will receive its power,
throne and authority from the devil.
4.
The composite beast will astonish everyone and
overpower everything that has authority.
5.
The composite beast will stand in direct
opposition to the authority of God.
Now that these elements
have been established, the remaining verses are
easy to understand. Please notice what each verse
says. There should be no question about their
meaning.
Revelation 13:4 Men worshiped
the dragon because he had given authority to
the beast, and they also worshiped the beast
and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who
can make war against him?”
Revelation 13:5 The beast
was given a mouth to utter proud words
and blasphemies and to exercise his authority
for forty-two months.
Revelation 13:6 He opened
his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his
name and his dwelling place and those who live in
heaven.
Revelation 13:7 He was
given power to make war against the saints
and to conquer them. And he was given authority
over every tribe, people, language and nation.
Revelation 13:8 All
inhabitants of the earth will worship the
beast – all whose names have not been
written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb
that was slain for the creation of the world.
Revelation 13:9 He who
has an ear, let him hear.
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
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