seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 17:9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
Oh this one has me stumped. The following is from enduringword.com.Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come: This is one of the more difficult passages in the Book of Revelation. Some explain these seven kings, five past, one present, and one to come in the succession of Roman Emperors in John’s era, but there are many historical difficulties with this approach. More likely, it is a reference to:
· Five have fallen refers to the five world empires before John’s day: Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia, and Greece
· One is refers to the world empire of John’s day: Rome
· The other has not yet come refers to the one world empire to come: a revival of the Roman Empire
When he comes, he must continue a short time: This seventh will quickly be taken over by an eighth – and will become the state of the Antichrist (Revelation 17:11).
i. There are problems with this viewpoint as well (so some have taken the seven as symbolic). This plainly is a difficult passage!
And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
Is himself also the eighth: He is of the seven in the sense that he shares characteristics with all previous world empires, but his fate is clear. Perdition means “destruction,” and the beast will be destroyed.
Ok then... that makes good sense... to John. John saw the revival of the Roman Empire.... I don't think that happened. I do, however, see that the seventh king, like the Roman Empire, will have a dim view of Christianity. It makes sense that if the Anti-Christ can follow him in history, the seventh king would be the one that would prepare the way for the Anti-Christ to play.... so Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.... all under one God... have to go. I think these verses are warning us that it will be a crime to love the Lord.....
A crime!
