Greetings! We’re now into the fifth post in our eight-part series on the study of the whore of Babylon. In our last post, we looked at the term “many waters,” and what it meant. We also studied the crowns and the significance of their moving from the heads and onto the horns. In this post, we’re going to look at the “mystery of the beast,” which requires us to solve a sort of puzzle. And then we’ll also look at something called “the law of double reference.” Ready? Let’s get into this!

Chapter 17: The Whore of Babylon

Fifth in an Eight-Part Series
by Karen Thompson

The Vision of the Whore of Babylon Riding a Scarlet-Colored Beast

Rev. 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. 3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

The Mystery of the Beast

Rev. 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

In this passage, we have come to the portion of the vision where the angel gives the Apostle John a sort of “riddle.” It’s supposed to be the key that identifies the beast, but even with the help of the riddle, it’s not easy to figure out. Every student of end time scriptures will tell you that trying to figure out the identity of the beast can be confusing. Here’s the problem: There are verses that describe the beast as a fallen angel in the unseen realm, but then other verses make it clear that the beast is definitely a man, in fact, a king.

For instance, one verse states most definitely that the beast is the fallen angel named Apollyon who ascends out of the bottomless pit (9:11). Yet in many other places, the beast’s actions are without a doubt that of a man. For instance, the beast will make war with the two witnesses and kill them (11:7). By the context, it’s obvious a man waged warfare against the two witnesses, yet it says it was the beast from the bottomless pit that killed them.

Most verses talk about the beast as though he were a man. In one place, it says the beast received a deadly wound and then was miraculously healed of his wound (13:3). The whole world witnessed his recovery, causing all to be in wonder of him. This event is something all of mankind will witness with their eyes. That means it will happen in the seen realm, not the unseen realm. So this event is definitely talking about a man, not a fallen angel.

Also, chapter 13 talks about how everyone must take the mark of the beast; it says his number, 666, is “the number of a man.” This verse makes it clear the beast is a man and not an angel from the pit (13:8).

When the fifth angel poured out his vial on the seat of the beast, it covered the beast’s kingdom in darkness. It was so unpleasant that the people in his kingdom gnawed on their tongues (16:10). Again, from the context it’s clear that the seat, or throne, of the beast will be an earthly kingdom, and his subjects are humans, not beings in the unseen realm. This verse talks about the beast as if he were a man, more specifically, a king.

Another verse talks about how the beast will be thrown into perdition (17:8). From the context, it’s clearly talking about a man. But then chapter nine says the same thing about the angel that ascends out of the bottomless pit, that his ultimate destiny will be perdition (9:11). So one verse talks about the beast being thrown into perdition, and it’s clear the beast is a man. Then another verse talks about the beast being thrown into perdition, and it’s clear the beast is Apollyon, the fallen angel.

So which is it? Is the beast a fallen angel named Apollyon that ascends from the bottomless pit? Or is the beast a man, king of a nation?

He is both. In a sense, the angel from the bottomless pit and the man are one in the same. The fallen angel Apollyon from the unseen realm will have great influence on the man in the seen realm, so much so that it will be as though they operate as one. A more familiar terminology for their union would be possession. The beast from the bottomless pit will take possession of the man; when that happens, the man becomes what 2^nd Thessalonians 2:3 refers to as “the man of sin, the son of perdition.” This title is a reflection of his duality. The man becomes the Antichrist beast.

The Law of Double Reference

This sort of dual union can be seen in several places in the Bible. The first time we see this duality is in the book of Genesis with Satan and the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Satan wanted to speak to Eve, but he couldn’t because he belongs to the unseen realm. In order to speak to Eve, Satan had to take possession of a being in the seen realm. You know the story: Satan used the serpent to speak to Eve, deceiving her into disobeying the Lord. Adam followed her in her disobedience. Afterward, the Lord handed down punishments for Adam, Eve, and the serpent.

The woman’s punishment was that she would experience great pain in childbirth. To Adam, the Lord said the ground would be cursed, bringing forth thorns and thistles, making it difficult to cultivate the land. But there’s something different about the serpent’s punishment: “And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:14–15).

What is different about the serpent’s punishment is that though it’s speaking to the serpent, it is actually addressing not one, but two entities. It speaks to the serpent, but it’s also speaking to the being from the unseen realm, Satan, who was influencing the being from the seen realm, the serpent. Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible says the way to interpret these kinds of double-decked passages is by using the “law of double reference.” When you come upon passages that are speaking to more than one entity, you must “associate only such statements with each individual as could refer to him.”⁶

Using the law of double reference, it’s obvious that verse 14 is speaking to the serpent: it was cursed above every beast of the field and for the rest of its days, it would eat dust slithering on its belly. Verse 15 is speaking to the invisible being that was using the serpent: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Verse 15 is a prophetic word to Satan about Christ and His redemptive work on the cross.

Another well-known doubled-decked passage is in Isaiah chapter 14. It’s a prophetic word against the king of Babylon. Though the prophetic word is addressed to the king of Babylon, there are things in the word that could not possibly apply to the king. For instance: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isa. 14:12–14). Obviously, the king of Babylon had never been in heaven; these verses are addressing Satan, the invisible being that was influencing the king of Babylon. (See another example of Satan influencing a king in Ezekiel 28:12–17.)

Let’s look at a double-decked passage in the New Testament. In this passage, a demon used a man to speak to Jesus: “Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him” (Luke 4:33–35 NKJV). The demon had taken possession of this man. Notice how the demon, not the man, spoke to Jesus using the man’s voice. The only way a demon from the unseen realm can have expression in the seen realm is by taking possession of a person in the seen realm. Jesus ended this possession by casting the demon out of the man. (See also Matt. 16:22–23; Mark 5:7–16; Luke 4:33–35, 41.)

In this same way, the end times Antichrist will be possessed by Apollyon, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit. The beast from the bottomless pit will express himself through the man known as the little horn, or Antichrist. They will act as one entity. That’s why so many verses sound as though the beast and the man are one in the same.

When does this dual union take place? Setting all the events in their times and places, we can surmise that the union of the little horn and Apollyon will take place in the middle of Daniel’s 70^th week. Two significant things happen simultaneously in the middle of the 70^th week: 1) the man known as the little horn will break the covenant and invade Jerusalem, and 2) the beast named Apollyon will ascend out of the bottomless pit. One thing we know for sure: Apollyon’s possession of the little horn cannot take place before he is let out of the bottomless pit. We know Apollyon is let out of the pit at the sound of the fifth trumpet. God administers the trumpet judgments in response to the little horn invading Jerusalem. So from that, we know Apollyon’s possession of the little horn will not take place before the little horn invades Jerusalem. I surmise it happens when the little horn receives a deadly wound and then is miraculously healed. The little horn dies as a man but is raised up as the beast… hence he becomes the “man of sin, son of perdition.” The “man of sin” is the title for the human portion. The “son of perdition” is the title for the beast portion.

In the next post, we’ll look at something that is a three-part riddle. You don’t want to miss it!

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