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[Revelation Ch.17: Religious Babylon] II.
The Interpretation
REV
17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend
out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition
This indicates that antichrist will possess the power and origin of his
ultimate mentor, the Devil who is of the abyss. Their power is one. He
will finally go into perdition in the Lake of Fire. REV
17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are
seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
The "seven mountains" appears to point to the city of Rome, the
city on the seven hills. In view of the historic prominence of the Roman
church and its present-day involvement in world political and religious
leadership, may we not look to the Roman Catholic church as the meaning of
this symbol? REV
17:10 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.
Interestingly, the Roman Empire had had five prominent kings by the time
of John. The one king that "is" was Domitian, who banished John
to Patmos. And the future one (king) should then be the antichrist. The
"short space" should refer to the relative shortness of the
tribulation period. REV
17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth,
and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition
This verse suggests that the antichrist is the seventh head of the (old)
Roman Empire, although he is considered the eighth head--of the revived
Roman Empire. REV
17:12 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.
"One hour" denotes the ten kings as contemporary kings. They
reign at the same time. They will arise from the confines of the old Roman
Empire to give support to the antichrist.
Note that the 7 heads are successive Roman rulers, while the 10 horns are
kings who are contemporaneous with each other. REV
17:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and
strength unto the beast.
The 10 European rulers will unanimously offer their rulership to the
antichrist. REV
17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where
the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
It appears that the end-time Roman church will become more and more
prominent, controlling peoples and nations in their religious, as well as
extra-religious, lives. REV
17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these
shall hate the whore...and burn her with fire.
The worldwide influence of this super church will not go unchallenged for
long. The antichrist, at the middle of the tribulation, will claim his
leadership prerogatives and crush the religious system. The world is
commanded to worship him. REV
17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which
reigneth over the kings of the earth.
This strongly suggests that the harlot is the city of Rome, centered in
its Roman church.
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