I titled this morning’s message The Explanation of the Vision part 1 – Rise of The Antichrist Revisited. In summary, what we are going to be talking about is the rise of the Antichrist and his kingdom. Now, if you think back to some weeks back in Revelation 13 we have spoken about this before. But remember, Revelation 17 is a parenthetical passage, so Revelation 17 gives some greater details that have not yet been revealed.
I want to begin by pointing out that Revelation 17, as I see it, is pretty much divided into three parts.
The first part, verses 1-2, which we discussed last week, simply serve as a means to introduce or summarize to John what the angel is about to show John. The second part, verses 3-6, is the actual vision that the angel shows to John. And the third part, verses 7-18, is where the angel explains to John what he has seen. But for our purposes, we are only going to work through verse 14, which is the part of the vision that deals only with the beast.
Now what I want to do is read through the second part of this text, verses 3-6, which is the actual vision that the angel shows John.
“And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.’ And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”
I also want to take a moment and point out John’s reaction to this vision.
We see that during this vision John is in utter amazement of the woman he was looking at, saying in verse 6,“When I saw her, I marveled greatly.” The actual implication here is that he was so astonished and amazed and awestruck by the greatness of the woman he had seen, he actually had some admiration for her.
And of course this was quickly rebuked by the angel who was showing John all this. The angel said to John in verse 7, “Why do you marvel?” In other words, the angel is saying to John, ‘why are you so astonished?’ Why are you so amazed? Why are you so stunned? And the angel then tell’s John, “I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her.”
That’s what I want to do now. For the remainder of our time together I want to help you see what this vision is truly all about as the angel explains it in verses 7-18, but before we do there are a couple details I want to point out from verse 3.
For the initial part of this vision we see in verse 3 the angel carrying John away in the Spirit.
What that means is that John is being transported by the Holy Spirit to receive a prophetic vision. If you know your Bible then you know this is nothing new for the Spirit to do. We see this often in the Scriptures with people whom God has chosen to speak through and give visions. In fact, the apostle Peter tells us that is how the Scriptures, especially with regards to biblically prophecy, were written, saying, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” So understand then, what John is being shown here by the angel is from Almighty God.
The next observation of this vision tells us that John was taken away by the Spirit to a wilderness in verse 3.
Notice the text does not tell what wilderness, it just tells us a wilderness. That’s because the name of the wilderness is not important, but what is important is the fact that John was taken to a wilderness, and I’ll tell you why. In the Bible the wilderness was a place of special protection but also physical suffering. In this case, it provides John with special protection. God wanted John to see and receive this vision without being harmed.
Now, looking ahead to verse 8, we see that the angel begins explaining this vision with the beast that the woman we read about was seated on, saying, “The beast you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.”
This beast is the symbol of a man we call the Antichrist and is the same beast previously mentioned in Revelation 13:1. The phrase that this beast “was, and is not, and is about to rise” means that the Antichrist will live, then die, and return to life. Remember from Revelation 13 verse 3 and verses 12 through 14, John describes the Antichrist as a beast who had received a mortal head wound and yet came back to life; also remember it is debated whether or not the Antichrist will literally die and be resurrected or if the miracle will be counterfeit. Either way, whether it’s a real resurrection or counterfeit, the result will be the same – many people will be deceived and led to believe he is God.
Next, notice John records seeing the beast “rise from the bottomless pit.” The bottomless pit is another name for the abyss. The fact that John sees the beast rising from the bottomless pit tells us two things about the beast: First, it tells us the beast or Antichrist is not just a man, but is also a supernatural being who is highly motivated and influenced by the Devil. In fact, it could be said that the Antichrist is the prince of Satan. And secondly it tells us the extent of the Antichrist’s evilness, because as we have seen in Revelation, the abyss or bottomless pit, is the place of confinement for evil spirits.
Lastly, notice that John records this beast, or Antichrist, will “go to destruction.” Very simply, that means his fate has already been determined. The word “destruction” in Greek means the Antichrist, whose future on this earth will be short-lived, will inevitably be condemned to eternal ruin.
Also in verse 8, the angel explains many will be misled by the Antichrist, saying, “And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.”
Remember from Revelation 13:4, John sees a multitude of people worshiping the beast or Antichrist as God. What this verse implies is that God already knows who they are and already knows what decision they’re going to make about Christ. It implies that those people, whom God foreknew, according to His foreknowledge, before the world began, whom God knew would not repent of their sins, would not look to Christ for salvation from their sin, would love their sin more than they love Jesus, and knew they would hard-heartedly and rebelliously turn away from Jesus upon hearing the gospel – God did not and has not and will not record their names in the Lamb’s book of life. Instead, God will give them over to a reprobate mind, and allow them to fall into the snare of the Devil. Thus, they will be amazed and deceived by the Antichrist’s deceptive counterfeit resurrection, and therefore, will go to eternal ruin with the Devil and his prince, the Antichrist.
But that also means, for those people who do not belong to the world, who have and will put their trust in Jesus, whose names have been written in the book of life before the world began, according to the foreknowledge of God, will not be amazed or deceived by the Antichrists real or counterfeit resurrection. Therefore, instead of being condemned to eternal ruin, they will be rewarded with the inheritance of heaven, which Jesus died for them to have. But based on this text, there will likely be many who will fall under the influence of the Devil, and so be misled.
Now the angel, in verses 9-11, explains the seven heads seen in verse 3, saying, “This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.”
First, John tells us that the seven heads we see on the beast in verse 3 are seven mountains. Now, some believe that John is referring to an actual place called Rome, because it is famous for its seven hills or mountains. However, in Scripture, mountains can also refer to actual kings and kingdoms. And that is what John is referring to here.
We know this because the angel tells us in verse 10 that these are also seven kings. But it is more accurate to say that they represent seven kingdoms, not just kings. So the seven mountains are actually representative of seven kingdoms. These seven kingdoms are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia (present day Iran), Greece, Rome, and the future revived or revised Roman Empire, which we have talked about once before in Revelation 13:1; but are now finding out some more details about them.
Also notice in verse 10 that five of the seven kings or kingdoms have fallen. Notice the past tense of the word “fallen”. During John’s lifetime many of these seven kingdoms were in existence. But by the time God had John to write this revelation, five of those seven had fallen. Those five were: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia (Iran), and Greece.
Next notice that John says, “one is”. Notice the present tense here telling us that this is a kingdom present at the time John received and wrote this revelation. This kingdom is Rome. The Roman empire is the empire that existed at the time when John wrote this Revelation; that’s why it is written in the present tense rather than past or future tense. In fact, going back to Revelation 1, it’s the Roman Emperor Nero who banished John to the Isle of Patmos, where John received this vision we call Revelation.
Then, John mentions in verse 10 that “the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while.” This is a reference to the last of the seven kingdoms previously mentioned; and notice the future tense, it refers to a kingdom that has not yet risen. This kingdom is the revived or revised Roman empire, and will come to power not longer after the church is raptured. Now, what you need to understand here, is that this is not necessarily saying that the ancient Roman Empire will rise again. Actually, scholars suggest that this is more like a generic term used to describe the one world geo-political and economic governmental or empire that will rise not long after Jesus has raptured his church from this earth. And notice, this empire or kingdom, will be short-lived, because John says when this one world political system or government rises, it will “remain only a little while”.
That’s because, according to verse 11, an eighth will rise. Notice that John says in verse 11, “As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven.” Now, here’s what you absolutely need to grasp to understand this text: this beast is not a separate beast from the one that was already mentioned in verse 8; it is, in fact, the same beast, which means we are talking about, not just a beast, but a man; and not just a man, but a supernatural man; and that supernatural man is the prince of the Devil, the Antichrist.
What does all this mean? What the angel is showing John is the Antichrist rising to geo-political and economic power. After the church is raptured, a geo-political system will very quickly rise to power, but will not last very long; that is revised Rome. But not long after it does, a man, who is also the Antichrist, who is influenced by the Devil, who seemed to live and die and live again, who also represents a kingdom within himself, a kingdom that rises up from the abyss or bottomless pit, that will have the geo-political power of all these seven kingdoms put together, will rise, and take over the geo-political system of revised Rome to rule the world, which will be an evil empire like the world has never seen.
And as scary as that sounds, we must keep in mind that the Antichrist and the geo-political empire that rises with him, already has a destination. We must remember the empire of the Antichrist is destined to be destroyed. Notice in verse 11 that John writes this eighth empire “goes to destruction”. That is the second time we see this mentioned in reference to the Antichrist. That’s because John wants the reader – you and I and future readers – to understand, that while the Antichrist might rise up and rule for a time after the rapture of the church, his time is also short-lived, and that his time is appointed, and at the end of his appointed time, he will be condemned to eternal ruin, along with all those who follow him.
Now, going a little deeper, in verses 12 – 14, the angel explains the ten horns seen on the beast in verse 3. But really what he is explaining is how the Antichrist and his kingdom will come to power, saying, “And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.”
From my understanding these ten horns are ten united kings, and therefore ten nations, that will exist simultaneously, and make up that seventh empire spoken of in verses 9-11, the revised Roman geo-political empire, which will rise not long after Jesus raptures his church from the world. So again, these ten kings, who also represent ten kingdoms or nations, are what will make up the revised Roman geo-political power. And the fact that they “receive authority as kings for one hour” is suggestive of the short time the Revised Roman geo-political empire will have.
Now notice the words: “together with the beast”. That means those ten kings reign not separate from, but with the beast, that is the Antichrist. That means the Antichrist will rise to power through geo-political means. That also means not long after these ten kings rise to power after the rapture of the church, one will rise from among them, who will be the Antichrist, and the ten kings or rulers of that geo-political system will pledge their allegiance and power and authority to him, thus giving rise to the eighth empire spoken about in verses 9-11, which will rule through majority of the tribulation. So this is how the eighth empire, which is ruled by the Antichrist, that John speaks of in verse 11 comes to geo-political power.
The angel also explains, in verse 14, the soul purpose of their unification, saying, “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and Kings of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
What John is seeing is the great battle that is to come, the battle of Armageddon. Thus, their soul purpose for coming together is to oppose the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, and the people who follow him. However, the angel makes it clear to John that the Antichrist and the ten kings will fail in their purpose to defeat Jesus. For when Jesus comes back at his second coming, he returns not as a king, but the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords, and he will come to conquer evil once and for all. Now, as I close, the question that must be answered is this: how does this apply to you today? Why does this matter to you?
First, I think it matters because it explains why we see things happening the way they are in our geo-political economy today.
The events that take place in our geo-political economy today are making way for events tomorrow that have been outlined in God’s Word. Referring back to verses 9-11, this is why the angel shows John all those kingdoms. He is showing that the all the empires of the world that pre-date John, that existed during John’s lifetime, and will exist after John (including our lifetime), are leading to a single and great empire that will be ruled by the prince of Satan, the Antichrist, who is from the bottomless pit. This is why, believers, no Christian should be surprised by the geo-political and economic climate we see happening in our day. It’s all leading up to the rise of the Antichrist’s empire.
Secondly, I think it matters because despite the fact that everything happening in our geo-political and economic climate today will inevitably lead to the rise of the empire of the Antichrist, we can have hope.
I know there are pastors who preach that we need not focus on the doom and gloom parts of Scripture nor should we preach about the signs of the times, the persecution of the church, and so on, because it leads to despair and anxiety. In fact, did you know that there is a real thing such as rapture anxiety? It’s true; CNN did a whole article on this published September 27, 2022.
But I disagree with people who say that we should avoid such teachings in Scripture. I think people need to know what Scripture says about the signs of the times. I believe people need to know what Scripture says is coming. I believe it is the loving thing to do. I believe it’s in the Bible for a reason and in part, it’s there so that we might stay alert and it’s there so that we can make sense of the world we live in. And while I agree it can cause some fear and anxiety; I also believe, if you know the end game, which God has also outlined in His word, it’s not a reason to despair, but a reason to hope.
Referring back to verse 14, the hope of all this is that everything happening in our geo-political and economic climate is happening according to God’s sovereign plan, which means nothing you see in our current geo-political and economic climate is happening outside of God’s control. But verse 14 also reveals that at the end of all this, King Jesus will return to defeat and destroy everything that our geo-political and economic climates are leading to – the empire of the Antichrist. Which means, one day all the stresses we have today that come from our geo-political and economic climate will one day come to an end, and on that day we will be under the rule of King Jesus.
Again, for me, that helps everything I see happening in our world today, especially in the realm of politics and economy, make sense. It helps me to be less stressed, not more stressed. And gives me hope for my future, not despair; because I know one day King Jesus is returning, and therefore, I keep my eyes not on the present but on what is ahead.
And that is my hope for you all as well. Again, I know this end times preaching can cause some of you despair, and maybe some anxiety. But, I think, if you look at it in the light of the gospel, and understand God is sovereign, and understand nothing is happening outside God’s plan – including politics – you should have hope rather than despair. Because everything that is happening is inevitably leading to beyond the rapture of the church, but to Jesus’ glorious second coming; and that is a reason to rejoice. But only if you’re a Christian.