Lesson Two

Chapter 17:7-11

The Meaning of the Seven Headed Beast

a) Verse 7

- “Why are you astonished?” Angel is asking because he knows that God is sovereign and in control all things. These things the angel talked about to John already in reference to chapter 13.

- “I will try to explain the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns” The angel now promises to interpret for John the details of “the mystery” (cf. 17:5). The theme is the same as the four horsemen in 6:1–8: evil must come full circle, turn upon itself, and self-destruct.

b) Verse 8

- “The beast which you saw, once was and is not”

o This is a parody on the name of God who is entitled “the one who was and who is and who is to come.”

o The “was and is not” [dead] parodies Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is a counterfeit resurrection. The beast imitates this in 13:3, 12, 14 with his “mortal wound that is healed...”

o It also points forward to the “eighth king” of 17:11, the Antichrist who “was” with Satan, “is not” here right now, but “will come” at the end of history. In other words, the Antichrist will assume power and take upon himself divine attributes but is the absolute opposite of divinity.

- “and is about to ascend from the abyss”

o In 11:7 the beast ascends from the abyss in order to kill the two witnesses, and in 13:1 he ascends from the sea in order to become part of the false trinity and conduct the war of the dragon.

o This is not speaking of the same time the creatures came up out of the abyss in the fifth trumpet in chapter 9. Those creatures attack only the unbelieving earth dwellers.

o The imagery here points to the final appearance of the Antichrist at the end of history. It “is about” to happen speaking about taking place some time in the future.

- “and go to destruction”

o The antichrist destiny is settled. As he ascends, so will be his decent (destruction). As said in 12:12, the beast “knows his time is short” and that he is predestined for destruction. His frustrated anger fuels his efforts in chapters 12–13. He knows that his slaughter of the saints will end in defeat, but it is all he can do in the short time he has left. His “destruction” will be eternal (20:10).

o This destruction of the Antichrist is also found three times of the little horn in Dan. 7:11, 17–18, 23, 26. In Daniel as here, the demonic powers behind the little horn/beast will temporarily prevail over the people of God (see Rev. 11:7; 13:7), but his predetermined destiny is “destruction.”

o “names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world”

o When Scripture refers to something that has been true “from the foundation of the world,” it means “for all of human history.” But when Scripture refers to something that happened “before the foundation of the world,” the event under discussion occurred before anything was ever created, in eternity past.

o This speaks of the sovereignty and omniscience of God, many things were determined and accomplished before or from the foundation of the world.

- “The inhabitants of the earth... will be astonished” when the earth-dwellers (13:8, 14) see the counterfeit resurrection, the will be astonished (13:3b). This wonder leads to worship (13:3-4).

- “once was, now is not, and yet to come” It is mention again in the verse to emphasize the counterfeit resurrection. This is the reason for the astonishment and worship of the people. They will “see” the counterfeit resurrection of the beast. The “will come” future tense emphasizes the certainty of the beast’s counterfeit resurrection.

c) Verse 9

- “This calls for wisdom” As the angel moves further into the interpretation of the beast, he states there’s a need for wisdom (cf. 13:18). Divinely given wisdom is needed to solve the apocalyptic riddle. This means that reader needs to turn to God for the wisdom to understand these incredible images and coming events. So the angel goes on to interpret the following events of the beast

- “The seven heads are the seven hills on which the woman sits”

o The “seven mountains” is a phrase often used for Rome in the ancient world because it was built on seven hills

o The woman, who “sits” on the seven hills, is the beast empire that is enthroned on Rome. The woman is further described in 17:15 as the inhabitants of the empire.

d) Verse 10

- “They are the seven Kings...”

o The seven hills are further identified with the seven kings. But it is described in the following vision: “Five are fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. When he has come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who was and is not is the eighth. He is of the seven and is going to go to destruction.”

o What does this vision mean? There will be a final unholy king of the seven. Somehow he will arise from the midst of the previous kings. This will be the “eight king” who will supersede the seventh short-lived king—“he must remain for a little while.”

o So the formula most scholars devise is 5 + 1 + 1 + 1. Many have debated for centuries of who are these kings:

§ Some debated that this was speaking about Roman emperors in John’s time, thinking that Nero or Dominican were the Antichrist. But history has proven this not to be the case.

§ Others believed that kings here are not speaking about emperors but rather empires such as: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome with the seventh and eighth being future empires. But I think this is inconsistent with Daniel’s prophecies of the final empire before the tribulation period to be the Roman Empire.

§ There are some scholars who believe that the numbers are connected to actual kings or empires but are apocalyptic symbols, signifying when the world kingdoms are complete. This would be consistent in the use of sevens throughout the book of Revelation i.e. seven heads of the beast.

§ It may be wise to take both a historical and symbolic view of this passage, where the numbering is not a reference to specific emperors (5+1+1+1 pattern), but rather a symbolic reference to the belief that the Roman tyranny as was a temporary phenomenon will be completed in global rulers (with the seventh short-lived ruler—Antichrist), leading into the eschaton.

e) Verse 11

1) “The beast who once was and now is not” Again this is a reference to the beast counterfeit resurrection. The beast is killed and rises from the dead, causing the nations to wonder and worship, accepting him as their god (13:3–4, 8, 14–15).

2) “Is an eighth king” Why eight? It may be a symbol of a future resurrection that is to imitate Christ’s resurrection. As Jesus was raised on the eighth day (Jewish way of understanding the first day of the week), so the beast will be raised on the eighth day in order to deceive the nations into worshiping him as god.

3) “he belongs to the seven” This speaks of the Antichrist. He is of the seven. He will follow their opposition to God and persecution of his people. He will not be another Roman emperor but will have “the same sort of role”—the same evil function.

4) “and is going to his destruction” As already noted in verse 8, the beast “knows his time is short” and that he is predestined for destruction