Revelation 17:3, 8-14

Close-up: “the beast from the sea”

Chapters 13 and 17 could be complementary pieces, both talking about the two entities, the beast and the horseman, who in harmony will do the will of Satan in the last hours of history. Certainly, if this is true, there is additional meaning to the fact that the woman “sits on many waters” (17:1), and the beast correspondingly rises “out of the sea” (13:1). So while chapter 17 is widely thought to be about “Babylon,” the same space is given to Babylon’s main customer, “the beast.” Likewise, the beast shares chapter 13 with “the false prophet,” quite possibly the head of Babylon.

The Antichrist is first mentioned in 17:3 as a “scarlet” beast. The woman herself is dressed in the same color (17:4). Only One Other wore scarlet in the New Testament, Jesus himself, in his humiliation at the hands of Herod’s men (Matthew 27:28). Although He is and was King, and He will reign forever and ever, how inappropriate it seemed for Christ to dress in royal robes before Time! How inappropriate to see his followers so decked out. How clearly these excesses of clothing and material things identify the professing church as part of the beast!

Then in 17:3 comes the indication of “blasphemous names”, linking it directly to the beast of 13:5-6. Likewise, the reference to seven heads and ten horns takes us to 13:1 and portions of Daniel.

The description of the beast then continues in 17:8. This passage relates that a man who has already lived on this planet is waiting even now to be released from the bottomless pit. Paul agrees in II Thessalonians 2, and John’s record of an angel in charge of that well adds light (Revelation 9:1). He will return to earth, do his work, be destroyed, and be lost forever.

In 17:9 we are told that the seven heads of the beast have a double meaning. First, they represent seven mountains or hills (the Greek word can mean either) on which the woman sits. Tie this in 17:18, and of course we have located the city of Rome: “The woman whom you saw is the great city that reigns over the kings of the earth.” Here it is stated that the “heads” represent the ruler, being the current ruler over this city of seven hills.

But the angel steps forward (17:10): The seven also mean seven “kings.” The comments connect “kings” with world empires. And it is true that there can be no King without a Kingdom. But the word is “King”, not “Kingdom”. Perhaps it would be helpful to take a closer look at these Empires and highlight the “King” being considered by the Spirit. It is obvious, even from a brief study of history, that not all the rulers of all the empires were completely against God and God’s plan. It seems to me that there could easily be a man in the main Kingdoms who rose up and fit the description of the man of sin for that generation. A man who from time to time pushed Satan’s agenda until he became the world’s agenda. He would have to be a blasphemer. Anti-God or anti-Christ. He would have to have a serious hatred for Jews and/or Christians. A dictator with all authority over his people. And as we shall see, a King of Babylon. By John’s day, five of those men had fallen, says the angel. One ruled on the Roman throne. One is yet to come in our own future.

And then one more (17:11). That’s eight. The man of sin, the antichrist, is one of those seven who rules for the second time! He was, that is, existed, in the days of John. He is “not” present on earth in John’s day. And yet he lives, somewhere. He rises from the Pit, synonymous in many Scriptures with the grave, though the angel is holding him back for now, says Paul. He rises in his “resurrection body” as Jesus did. He deceives the world. He is going to perdition.

Now we must certainly stop and look back in history to find the other men. If I have discovered the truth on this matter, surely there are seven men from whom the Spirit can give us the grace to choose the very one who is set forth here as number eight. Did I say exposed? Oh yes, we must know this mystery. The facts are all out there. John marveled at it all, but he was slightly rebuked! He was told (17:7) that the mystery has a solution! The Book before us is not the Book of unanswered mysteries, but the Book of Revelation! Those looking for these answers will surely find them.

seven men. I cannot begin my study in Egypt, although I understand the thinking of those who do. The mysteries of the Enemy began at the Tower of Babel, with a “Nimrod”. I’ve seen him labeled “the first antichrist.” In Genesis 10 we read about his greatness and how he actually founded the cities of Babylon and Nineveh, the two capitals that would rule the world from his time until almost the end of Old Testament history. Even Persia, which completes the secular history that serves as the background of the Old Testament, has legends of someone who “hunted” with dogs and leopards. His fame as a world leader has given rise to myths and fables in many cultures. Shouldn’t the founder of nations be considered the first of the “men of sin”? Josephus, the Jewish historian, in his Antiquities I, 4 says of those early days:

“…the sons of Noah…went down from the mountains to the plains and there fixed their dwellings; and they persuaded others…who were very reluctant to come down from the highest place, to venture to follow their example… ..God commanded them to send out colonies, for the complete peopling of the earth…but they did not obey God [since they had] the suspicion that they were ordered to send separate colonies, which, being divided in two, could be more easily oppressed. Now it was Nimrod who stirred them up to such an affront and contempt of God… He also gradually transformed the government into tyranny…[bringing] in a constant dependence on its power. He also said that he would take revenge on God, if He intended to drown the world again…”

Before moving on to man number two, let me point out here that since the first man in the chain is the founder of Babylon, and the last man in the chain closely supports Babylon, it is possible to search for, I think, the successors of the King of Babylon. Just Babylon, to find the men we’re looking for. I discovered that there are 133 such men. They date from the earliest beginnings of Babylon in the 200s B.C. C. to the end of Babylon proper and beyond, through Assyria, Persia and even Greece! Yes, Alexander the Great and his successors called themselves the “King of Babylon”.

Also, Isaiah points to a man with this title in his apocalyptic message recorded in chapter 14. Here one called “King of Babylon” is somehow related to Lucifer! It is said that he “weakened the nations.” His pride exalts him to exaggerated thoughts of his own deity. However, he is taken to the pit. It closely resembles the explanation of the details in Revelation. Written 800 years before John.

Man number two. Historically, the Kingdom of Assyria with Shalmaneser I at its head, rose up and dominated Babylon around 1300 BC. C. Nineveh now rules. But Nineveh is also from Nimrod. And the men of Assyria will also be called the King of Babylon. He is in the blood. Babylon is the mother of all abominations and must give them her name. Historical records help us with this label throughout the Greek Empire. John the Revelator adds Rome to the list.

One of the most powerful rulers of Assyria was Sennacherib. His reign is mentioned briefly but with great significance in the Word of God. Through his men, he actually challenged the God of Israel and the Israel of God in 700 B.C. C. (II Kings 18), while he appropriated real estate throughout the Promised Land. In fact, he was successful in overthrowing the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and felt that he too could reclaim the South (Judah). His pride and self-confidence made him a blasphemer, one of the main qualifications for Satan’s men (II Kings 19:22). His hatred for Israel and his plan to destroy them, also revealing his character and his origin, was intercepted by God through the intercession of the king of Judah, Hezekiah, and the prophetic declarations of none other than Isaiah ( II Chronicles 32).

Both Micah and Isaiah speak of one they call “the Assyrian,” a true enemy who will be defeated by the Lord. Like Isaiah’s words about “the King of Babylon,” it seems almost like an end-time statement in both cases, leading some to believe that the man of sin will indeed be an Assyrian. I can almost believe it myself, but of course only in light of a risen King as John predicts, not as a revival of the Assyrian nation today, a notion that seems a bit far-fetched and is not required by any specific law. text.

However, for the record, Micah says that the one born in Bethlehem, the Messiah, will be the one to deliver Israel from “Assyria” (Micah 5:2-6). And Isaiah, in the same chapter that speaks of the “King of Babylon” and Lucifer (14), later refers to the “Assyrian”, who will be broken, throwing off the yoke of Israel.

Now, I have suggested before that it is Antiochus Epiphanes waiting at the Well of Revelation 17:8, and I think I have a good reason. But I can understand the reasoning that would lead people to think that it is Sennacherib. Another element that points to this Assyrian: as far as I know, he is the only one of the seven who was killed by the sword (II Kings 19:37). Now, the wording of Revelation 13, in my opinion, doesn’t call for a sword wound for a human being, but I still find Sennacherib intriguing and worthy of further study.