Welcome to the last post in our eight-part series on the study of the whore of Babylon! In our last post, we talked about the significance of the whore “sitting.” We talked about how the seven mountains are not literal mountains, and we looked at an erroneous doctrine that was created concerning the seven mountains. We also talked about the riddle of the ten kings and the ten horns. We also talked about the symbolism of the term “one hour.” In this final post, we’re going to look at the events that will lead to the ten kings yielding their power to the beast, making him the eighth head on the beast. Are you ready for the very last part of the series? Don’t go anywhere… let’s get into this! 

Chapter 17: The Whore of Babylon

Eighth 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.

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.

Rev. 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

The Events That Will Lead to the Kings Yielding Their Power to the Beast

Let’s back up for a moment and talk about the ten kings, because not a couple of them… not most of them… but “all” the kings surrender their power over to the beast. Why in the world would all ten kings yield their power to another? This act is so out of step with history. Usually, it’s the other way around. History is chockablock with stories of men who would do anything for power. In the quest to obtain even just a little power, men have committed all manner of acts be they illegal, immoral, manipulative, deceitful, egregious, or unsavory. Men fight to get power. To hear about kings surrendering their power to another is astonishing. You have to ask, “Why?”

The Beast

In order to answer the question as to why these kings would surrender their power to the beast, we need to review the preceding events that will bring them to this unprecedented decision. We’ll start at the point in time when the little horn breaks the covenant and invades Jerusalem in the middle of the 70^th week. According to Revelation 11:2, the little horn’s invasion will be successful, and the Gentiles will trample Jerusalem for 42 months (three- and one-half years). During the invasion, the little horn will receive a deadly wound but then be miraculously healed of it (Rev. 13:3). After he is miraculously raised up, he becomes the beast. He is no longer the little horn; he has become the Antichrist, the man of sin, son of perdition (2 Thes. 2:3). When he is healed of his deadly wound, people will be astonished. They will call him a god and worship him. He continues his military campaigns, focusing on conquest and invading other nations. The book of Daniel tells us the focus of his military activity will be in the northern African continent (Dan. 11). The most notable thing about the beast is that he will be blasphemous, constantly speaking derogatory things against God and against His people.

The Jewish People

When the beast invades Jerusalem, half the people will flee into the wilderness to a place God has prepared for them. They will remain there for three- and one-half years, where their needs will be met (Rev. 12). The other half of the people will rise up and fight against the Antichrist beast, to wrestle control of Jerusalem away from him. Zechariah 9:13 tells us the army of Israel will fight like a mighty man. In Zechariah 12, it says Israel’s leaders and citizens will be strengthened by God to fight with His might and power. They will devour their enemies on their right and their left. The weakest among them will fight like the legendary warrior King David, and their combined strength will make it seem as though God Himself is fighting.

The False Prophet

While the beast is out fighting his military campaigns, the false prophet will be the one in authority while the beast is away. He will deceive people with “great wonders,” such as calling down fire from heaven. The false prophet will busy himself with the task of exalting the beast as a god. He will set up of an image of the beast and demand all to worship his image, under the threat of death. He commands all to take the mark of the beast either on their hands or foreheads. In order to encourage fealty to the beast, the false prophet will set up a system where you cannot buy or sell unless you have the mark of the beast. There will be much blood shed during this time. (Rev. 13:11–17)

The Two Witnesses

When Antichrist breaks the covenant and invades Jerusalem, that’s when the two witnesses show up. The Antichrist beast will control the entire city of Jerusalem as well as the temple court, but he will not have control of the temple. During that time, the two witnesses will prevent the beast and anyone associated with him from entering the temple. The length of their ministry will be three- and one-half years. In order to protect the two witnesses from being prematurely killed before they finish their ministry, God will equip them with special powers. If anyone tries to kill them, fire comes out of their mouths to devour their enemies. They will have the power to shut heaven so that it doesn’t rain for the entire length of their ministry. They have the power to turn water into blood and to smite their enemies with whatever plague they so desire, whenever they desire. (Rev. 11)

The Convergence of All the Elements

All these elements—the ten kings, the Antichrist beast, Jewish people, false prophet, two witnesses—will come to a point where they converge with one another. This convergence is brought about by a singular event; that event is when the Jewish people succeed in pushing back the forces of the Antichrist beast and set free all of Israel and Jerusalem at the end of the three- and one-half years.

A liberated Jerusalem explains why in Revelation 17 the ten kings attack Jerusalem and burn her with fire: “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire” (v. 16). When you first read this verse in Revelation, it’s confusing. This attack on Jerusalem doesn’t make sense, because at this point in time, Jerusalem has been under the control of Antichrist for three- and one-half years. Why would Antichrist and the ten kings attack a city that was already under his power and control? The answer to that question lies in the book of Zechariah.

Like both Daniel and the apostle John, the prophet Zechariah prophesied about the end time war between the Jewish people and Antichrist. Zechariah tells us the Jewish people break free of the beast’s hold on Israel and how they do it: “The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem…” (Zec. 12:7–8). The Jewish people will first save the regions throughout Israel. Then at the very end of the three- and one-half years, they will finally be able to set Jerusalem free. The Jewish people will throw off the yoke of the beast. A liberated Jerusalem/Israel is what will bring all the elements together that will trigger the event that will lead up to the kings giving their power to the beast.

I surmise the death of the two witnesses is key to what triggers the 10 kings into giving their authority to the beast. During the three- and one-half years, the Jewish people will fight in conjunction with the two witnesses to push back the Antichrist beast’s forces. While the Jewish people are fighting enemy forces militarily, the two witnesses will also fight Israel’s enemies with the powers the Lord will give them. During the three- and one-half years, the two witnesses will inflict various plagues on the nations whose goal it is to see Israel destroyed. The witnesses will turn their enemies’ water into blood, making drinking water scarce. And, worse yet, they cause a drought by shutting up the heavens so no rain falls for the entire length of their ministry causing their crops to fail, bringing forth famine. Revelation chapter 11 tells us the two witnesses will torment Israel’s enemies with their powers. They will be desperate to make an end of the witnesses. The Bible doesn’t tell us how many attempts on the lives of the two witnesses will take place. But we do know all the attempts to kill them will be thwarted because of a specific power the Lord will give them. If anyone tries to kill the two witnesses, they will kill them with fire that comes out of their mouths. No doubt, the inability to make an end of their tormentors throughout the three- and one-half years will be an unimaginable vexation for them.

Meanwhile, as the Jewish people and the two witnesses are busy fighting to free their nation, the Antichrist beast will be in the northern part of the African continent on a military campaign. Daniel chapter 11 tells us he will be fighting in the areas of Egypt and Lybia when he hears troubling news: “But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many” (v. 44). When it says he hears news “out of the east and out of the north,” it’s the Bible’s way of saying “news from the northeast.” No doubt, the troubling news he hears is that the Jewish people have retaken Jerusalem and have thrown off the beast’s forces he left there to hold it.

The next verse confirms that the troubling news he hears is, indeed, about Jerusalem, because when he rushes forth with great fury to destroy, he plants his tents right beside Jerusalem: “And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the seas and the glorious holy Mount [Zion]; yet he shall come to his end with none to help him” (v. 45 Amp.). “Palatial tents” is another way of saying military camp headquarters. He sets up his military headquarters between the sea, which is no doubt the Mediterranean Sea, and the glorious holy mountain, which is Jerusalem. These verses are talking about what happens at the end of Daniel’s 70th week, which is the demise of Antichrist: “yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” When he rushes off in great fury, little does he know he will never come back and finish his military endeavors in the northern part of the African continent.

Upon hearing Jerusalem has broken free of his grasp, Antichrist goes forth in great fury to destroy Jerusalem. We know the ten kings join him at some point because Revelation 17:16 says they hate Jerusalem and burn her with fire. This occurs at the end of the three- and one-half years. What also happens at that time is that the ministry of the two witnesses comes to an end. Revelation chapter 11 tells us the beast is finally able to take out the two witnesses: “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.” (Rev. 11:7–10)

The coup de grâce for Jerusalem’s demise is when the beast from the bottomless pit is able to kill the two witnesses. After three- and one-half years of torment from the two witnesses, the Antichrist beast is finally able to kill them. One can only imagine the pure adrenaline rush of being able to kill what seemed to be an unkillable enemy. The joy over their deaths will be so great that it will prompt people to send gifts to one another. The death of the two witnesses, I believe, is the event that triggers the ten kings to yield their power to the Antichrist beast. After all, he did what was thought to be the impossible: he killed their two greatest tormentors. This will be a huge accomplishment! No doubt this event will increase Antichrist’s belief he is invincible and it will be an affirmation of his god-like status. His megalomania will be “off the charts.”

In addition, the death of the two witnesses allows Antichrist to do the one thing they prevented him from doing—enter the temple in Jerusalem.

When the witnesses are killed, the beast will finally have access to the temple. I have no doubt that he will waste no time entering the temple posthaste. Upon entering the temple, he will sit in the temple as god. This event is prophesied in 2^nd Thessalonians 2:4: “who [Antichrist] opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (NKJV). Mark 13:14 also talks about Antichrist entering the temple. Speaking about Antichrist, Jesus said, “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (NKJV). The phrase “standing where it ought not” is talking about Antichrist entering the temple, a place where he ought not to be.

The false prophet will already have been promoting the Antichrist beast as god, forcing everyone to worship him upon threat of death. But when Antichrist kills the witnesses and enters the temple declaring himself to be god, I have no doubt this event will shore up his status as some kind of messianic being. The ten kings aligned with him will look at him in a new light. This new vision of him is the thing that will cause them to give their authority to the Antichrist beast. They literally submit their power and themselves to him. Antichrist, the seventh head on the beast, at that point will become the eighth head! His time as the eighth head will be short lived, because he and all those with him will march off to the battle of Armageddon and die. As Daniel 11:45 says, “he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”

It will be devastating to the Jewish people when their victory in overthrowing the Antichrist beast is short lived. However, their utter and complete devastation was prophesied by the prophet Daniel, and it is the signal that Messiah’s coming will be immediate. In Daniel chapter 12, the question was asked, “How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?” Then a man clothed in linen said, “…it shall be for a time, times, and half a time [three- and one-half years]; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished” (Dan. 12:6–7 NKJV). Daniel tells us that when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, that’s when everything is finished—Daniel’s 70th week is completed. The beast will kill the two witnesses and the ten kings join him in destroying and burning down Jerusalem. That is when the power of the holy people (the Jewish people) will have been completely shattered. Right after that, Messiah comes with His army and fights Israel’s enemies at the battle of Armageddon.

I hope you enjoyed this series on the apostle’s John’s vision of the whore of Babylon riding on the scarlet-colored beast. Did you learn a lot? Stay tuned for the a two-part series on The Greek Connection!

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