Revelation 17:7-18 The Mystery of the Beast

Woodland Hills Church of Christ

The Mystery of the Beast

Revelation 17:7-18

Introduction: If we were the original readers of John’s letter, this part of the letter would be riveting. Jesus mercifully prepared these Christians for what would “shortly take place” (Rev. 1:1).

We have seen the judgment of the beast proclaimed in the pouring out of seven bowls of wrath. It is as if the beast has already been destroyed. That announced judgment assured all Christians of ultimate victory over any beastly nation.

But in chapter 17, the Lord backtracks to give these Christians a clear picture of the beast and the great prostitute who seduces the nations with her immorality.

Then, as verse 7 announces, the angel will reveal a mystery. The revealed mystery will have to do with an explanation of the seven heads and ten horns on the beast. But not only does the angel explain what the heads and the horns are, but he also gives us a picture of how these heads operated and a time frame in which these heads existed.

Therefore, our first challenge is to understand these heads and horns and how the original reader would have been able to understand the explanation of the mystery.

1. The Mystery of the Heads and Horns of the Beast
   1. Two mysteries are revealed. The first in verse 10 is that the seven heads refer to seven kings, five have already fallen, one still exists, another is yet to come but will remain but a little while, and then an eighth will arise that will go to destruction.
   2. There is also a revealed mystery in the time period the heads (kings) ruled. Verse 8 tells us that the beast existed in the past, but at present the beast does not exist. However, the beast will soon rise again from the bottomless pit.
   3. In light of the many discussions on when Revelation was written, this passage is very helpful.
      1. Compare verse 8 with verse 10. In verse 8, we are told that at the present writing of the book, the beast does not exist, but will rise again. Verse 10 specifically tells us that five kings have fallen, one is presently ruling, and another is yet to come. An obvious conclusion is that the present emperor is not part of the persecuting beast, but the one after will rise and persecute, thus the resurrection of the head with mortal wound.
      2. Now go to 13:1-3. Here is our first description of the beast with seven heads and ten horns. Verse 3 tells us that one of the heads had a mortal wound, but then the mortal wound was healed causing the world to be amazed at the beast. Again, we see a connection. When one of the heads was killed, it appeared that the beast was no more, but then later came back to life. That is the same picture given in chapter 17: “the beast was, and is not, and is about to rise…”
      3. Verse 11 gives us one other bit of information that we need in order to understand the interpretation. There is an eighth horn that identifies the beast that rises up but is of the seven (like the seven, thus characterizing the “beastly empire”).
   4. It is worth mentioning that unlike most of the letter, the number seven as used in this section demands a literal interpretation. Just like we recognize that “seven churches” in chapters 2-3 were literal churches, so here, seven kings are literal kings. The reason we can make this conclusion is that the interpretation of the seven heads is specifically seven kings. In other words, we are not looking at the vision, but the angelic interpretation of the vision. This is the same as in Daniel 7 (the parallel text to the beast in this text) when the angel interprets the “four beasts” as four kingdoms. There is no symbolism in the interpretation.
   5. With that said, it is time to compare Daniel 7 with our text.
      1. Verses 7-8 In Daniel’s vision the fourth beast has ten horns, and then an eleventh horn rising up before which three horns were plucked up. This “eleventh” horn is obviously evil and has a mouth speaking great things.
      2. Verses 11-12 speaks of the judgment of the beast and the horn speaking great things.
      3. Verses 19-27 gives an explanation of the fourth beast and the horn speaking great things.
         1. Vs. 24: The horn that rises up will be different from the former ones and shall put down three kings.
         2. Vs. 25: He thinks he can overthrow God’s law. He will “wear out the saints,” and be given power for a time, times, and half a time.
         3. Vs. 26-27: He will be judged/destroyed and the “kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High!” It would seem evident that this last part has not yet been fulfilled.
2. Identifying the Kings of the Seven Heads Plus the Eighth
   1. Here is a list of the emperors of Rome:
      1. Augustus (27 BC-14 AD) as emperor
      2. Tiberius (14-37 AD)
      3. Caligula (37-41 AD)
      4. Claudius (41-54 AD)
      5. Nero (54-68 AD)
      6. Galba (68-69 AD)
      7. Otho (69 AD)
      8. Vitellius (69 AD)
      9. Vespasian (69-79 AD)
      10. Titus (79-81 AD)
      11. Domitian (81-96 AD)
   2. First, notice that if we count the “five kings who have fallen,” it would be Augustus to Nero.
   3. Second, notice the following three: Galba, Otho, Vitellius. These three had very temporary reigns in 69 AD which is known as the “year of the four emperors.” These were either murdered or committed suicide and came and went so rapidly that most of the empire was not even aware of their reign.
      1. This fits Daniel’s words: “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions.” (Daniel 7:19–20)
      2. Thus, the one that uproots the other three would be Vespasian. It is apparent that Daniel’s vision treats these three as kings of no account. Thus, when we get to John’s vision, instead of seeing 10 kings plus one, John sees 7 kings plus one, thus leaving out the three that were plucked up.
      3. This would mean that Vespasian was the king presently reigning when Revelation was written and was not the beast. When Nero committed suicide, he would be the “head with the mortal wound,” which caused the world to believe that the beast had received a mortal wound.
      4. Vespasian reigned until 79 when Titus took over, but he would “remain only a little while” (Rev. 17:10). Thus, Titus completes the seven heads of the beast, or “horns” as the vision goes in Daniel.
      5. The eighth that comes into power would be Domitian. He would correspond to the eleventh horn in the book of Daniel with the mouth who speaks great things. He is the resurrection of Nero, the previous persecuting emperor. Thus, the beast had a mortal wound but came back to life in Domitian.
      6. Domitian will begin to carry out the prophecies mentioned in chapters 11 & 13 and also 2 Thessalonians 2:1-11. He will claim to be God and demand divine honors and sacrifices to be made toward him.
3. Ten Kings without Royal Power
   1. Verses 12-15: The “kings” mentioned here were typical of the way the Roman Empire ruled. We see this is the Gospels and in the book of Acts. These rulers are like Herod, who have no royal power to supersede Rome, but who rule local areas and give their allegiance to the beast.
   2. Verses 16-17: However, the day would come when these kings would turn on the beast/Rome. You will remember, when the fourth empire of Daniel’s vision (chapter 2) is described, it is made partly of iron and partly of clay. It had a strength but also a weakness. Rome’s strength was they had brought together many nations and languages under their rule. But when Rome became corrupt their weakness was that they were no longer useful to these nations, they turned on the Great Prostitute and make her desolate and devour her. This is why Rome is called a prostitute – she is worthless once she no longer provides her suitors the pleasures they desire. (Cf. Ezekiel 16:35-37)

Conclusion and Lesson:

• Verse 17 reminds us that God has been in control through this whole rising and falling of the beast! Amazing! The conclusion that most of the world would have had during this beastly reign is the God is no longer in control. We can easily feel the same today. But not so. God will fulfill his plan.
• Verse 14 furthers this assurance. The world is making war with the Lamb! Do you see it? Do you feel it? And remember, we are in the war with the Lamb (12:11; 14:1). We must not despair. The Lamb will be victorious. And we who are “called and chosen and faithful” will be victorious.

Berry Kercheville

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