A Study of The Book of Revelation, Part #59

Earl Gillespie

THE LAST FORM OF GENTILE WORLD-POWER

Revelation 17:8-18

There are many different interpretations of the scripture, especially the book of Revelation some are so far fetched that the rule of God's given common sense don't even apply.  The different interpretations are in most cases creating confusion in the household of Faith.  When the devil showed up in the Garden of Eden, deliberate confusion was the plan of attack.  Many times these strange or new translations of God word is not in the best interest of providing a deeper understanding of God, but rather to create confusion or to create a platform of power.  

Many churches have detached themselves from the generations of the future.  In order to broaden its base of influence the church has begun to merge into the political, entertainment and educational arena.  The true focus of Christianity has been cast aside in search of fame and glory.   Jesus issued a solemn warning to the church of the Laodiceans, the church that is representative of today's church age, a church that had entered into it final state of apostasy,  Revelation 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  Jesus final message to the church in the book of Revelation was not addressed to the leaders of the church but to the individual overcomers.  Revelation 3:20-21  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Without getting all caught up in the difficulties that are encountered when interpreting the Book of Revelation let us summarize what is the best interpretation of this paragraph, and then move on. Again, Viewing this most unique New Testament book in its apocalyptic framework, we well know that the number seven is God's number and it is indicative of completeness/perfection.  And with that thought in mind, the seven heads / Kings are representative of  the entire Gentile rulers from beginning to end – whatever the literal number happen to  be.  We also know that a beast is representative of a nation.  Horns are points of power or rulers in the name of..

The Roman Empire symbolize or represent the  Gentile rulership of the world.  When John writes saying that 5 have fallen, he is saying that his readers were living in the days of the sixth emperor.  Six being the apocalyptic number of  incompleteness.  Effectively, he is telling us that the end or “completion” of the Gentile rule has not yet come.  The Roman Empire, though condemned, will remain as it says in v. 10 for a “little while” still.  

8. The beast that 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.

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

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

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

12. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

13. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 14. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

15. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

16. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

17. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

18. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

We found the following to be true of the Scarlet Woman:

1. She was marked by harlotry.

2. She was the mother of harlots and abominations.

3. She was born under Nimrod and ancient Babylon.

4. She made earth drunk with the wine of her fornication.

Now, in verse 6, the woman also is drunk . . . drunk on blood! Drunken from the Blood of saints and martyrs . . . witnesses of Jesus Christ. This definitely dates the woman back to the days of the prophets. he is no modern system or set-up. She was when the prophets were, and she shed their blood. She is responsible for every martyred prophet and saint down through the ages.

This woman is not pagan Rome alone. Millions of saints died a martyr’s death before the days of pagan and political Rome. Rome is included, to be sure, but much more than Rome is included. Wherever believers suffer for their Faith in Jesus Christ and is persecuted for that faith - many times even into Death - there the harlot of Revelation 17 is still living and operating against the Lord God, whether it be in pagan Rome, or among Jews, Catholics, Mohammedans . . . or a score of others which space will not allow us to name here. 

This mother of harlots is sitting upon “many waters . . . the waters are peoples, and multitudes, and tongues, and nations.” This statement clearly shows that the teaching and harlotry of this woman are universal. You cannot find one tribe on earth today that does not have its religion and its gods. You may go to the darkest jungle and find there the influence of paganism and idol worship!

The woman was not only sitting upon many peoples - she was also riding upon a scarlet Beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.  This is the same Beast seen in Revelation chapter 13. This Beast which John saw . . . was . . . is not . . . shall rise out of the abyss . . . then go into perdition! The people of earth wonder at the sight. The Beast is the ancient beastly Roman Empire, which was at its height when Jesus was born, and stood until 476 A. D. In John’s day it had been (Rome was born in 753 B. C.) and it was then existing. Since 476 A. D. Rome has not been a world power; but it will come into power immediately after the Rapture. It will be a ten-kingdom federation under the leadership of the Beast, and all the world will wonder at the giant kingdom. But it will go into utter destruction under the hand of judgment of the Lamb of God. Verse 8 describes past and future Rome - in spirit and in reality. Those who scoff at this interpretation should study the charter of the European Union.

Verse 9 tells us that the seven heads are seven mountains. This certainly pictures the seven-hilled city of Rome, here indicated as the center of the woman’s almost universal authority and influence. This is where the Papacy has been located and where it has flourished for 1500 years.

Verse 10 says, “And there are seven kings. FIVE ARE FALLEN, AND ONE IS, and the other is yet to come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.” These seven kings mean different forms of government of the Roman Empire. Five are fallen (which are past forms of government). But in John’s day the empire had the imperial form of government which is the “one that is.” The one that “is not yet but is to come” is the final form of the revived Roman Empire or European Union.

Verses 12 and 13: “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the Beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the Beast.”

These ten horns refer to ten royal persons. The term “horn” signifies power (Revelation 17:6; Lamentations 2:3), and here refers to kings. There will be ten kingdoms and ten kings who receive authority “one hour with the Beast.” (That phrase, “receive authority one hour with the Beast” signifies that they all receive power at the same time.

They will exist together. It does not mean that they will reign for only sixty minutes; but during the course of one hour the ten-kingdom federation is set up, is fully united and agreed.) When the Beast reappears on the scene of action he will appear in a ten-kingdom federation.

The Roman Empire crumbled in A. D. 476, but will be revived in a day unknown to man. This revived empire will consist of ten kingdoms with individual chiefs.  The duration of the reign of these ten kings will be determined by the reign of the Beast. When HE is destroyed THEY will be destroyed with him . . . they are kings in name only, for they willingly place themselves in absolute subjection to the Beast. They will have one mind, and will be dominated by the diabolical power of the Beast, who will be the very power of Satan wrapped up in flesh.

These ten kings will be no more than puppets, completely controlled by the Beast. We see much of this going on in the world today, in Russia, China, and the places where Communism is in power, and all of this is the spirit which is a forerunner of the Man of Sin, the last world dictator.

Verse 14: “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” We have recorded here the final public act of the Beast with his puppets and allies. The great battle is fully described in Revelation 19:19-21.

We will study this passage more fully a bit later on. The angel here gives only the fact of the battle, passing over many outstanding intervening events - that is, the battle has just been announced here; the war has not actually been entered into. The outcome is settled: “The Lamb shall overcome them.” Complete victory is guaranteed before the conflict begins.

The Mighty Conqueror is King of all who reign, and Lord of all who exercise authority upon this earth. No power is allowed except by God’s permission. God is supreme; He is sovereign; all power in Heaven and in earth is His (Matthew 28:18). How silly, how foolish, for men and governments to enter into war against God’s Lamb and Almighty God. Read the second Psalm in its entirety. One day the Lord God Almighty will laugh at the enemies of Righteousness, when they are completely put down, once for all forever.

But who are “they that are with Him” in verse 14? They are the host of heavenly armies, made up of all the redeemed in Heaven at that time. There will be other companies of saved persons in Heaven besides the Church (Hebrews 12:23), and when Jesus appears in the sky riding a great white horse, the whole body of heavenly saints will accompany their Lord. The armies will descend to crush earth’s ungodly hordes of the enemies of the Lamb of God.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof . . . The meek shall inherit the earth.” God did not create this earth to be populated by Satan and his emissaries. When final war is declared, all the saints will ride out with Jesus, on white horses. Read carefully concerning this universal gathering of heavenly saints (Jude 14; Zechariah 14:5; Revelation 19:14). Angels have their part in the heavenly conflict (Revelation 12:7), but the saints of God alone will form the conquering army of the Lamb of God . . . the army that will completely annihilate the Antichrist and his armies. 

Those who take part in this gigantic conflict and who are led by the Lamb of God is spoken of as “called, chosen, faithful.” They are those who were called in time (I Timothy 1:9), chosen in eternity (Ephesians 1:4), and proved faithful in all and every relation of life and many of them faithful even unto death (Matthew 25:21-23; Revelation 2:10). Such terms as “called, chosen, and faithful” can apply only to the redeemed saints. 

Continued