CHAPTER 24 Five are Fallen, one is, and One is yet to be

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. 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."

In this passage of scripture we are given a description of the seven head and ten horn beast which provided the means by which the woman, mystery Babylon, carried her fornications throughout the world. This beast exists in the past, the present, and the future: "the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."

The beast ascends out of the bottomless pit where in Revelations Chapter 20 the dragon was bound for a thousand years so as not to be able to gather the nations together during that time. The angel over the bottomless pit is Satan and the bottomless pit is God's eternal judgment against sin. Previously we saw the beast under the power and authority of the dragon rise up out of the sea of humanity. Now we see it ascending out of the bottomless pit and carrying the harlot woman.

As we have previously shown, this beast is a multinational political power that reigns over the kingdoms of this world. It is said to have seven heads, five of which are fallen, one is, and one that is not yet come. The scriptures describe the first six multinational political kingdoms. These are Syria, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. At the time of the writing of the book of Revelation the first five were fallen. Rome existed at that time as the one that is. The seventh head is said to be not yet come, but when he comes he must continue a short space. Since Rome, there has been no multinational kingdom reigning over the majority of the nations of the earth. There have been several attempts to form such a beast, but none has succeeded to date.

Revelation Chapter 20 informs us that after the thousand years end that Satan will be loosed out of the bottomless pit for a little season to gather the nations together to encompass the camp of the saints. We will have more to say about this when we get to Chapter 20.

The wording, "the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eight and is of the seventh," is interesting. For something to be is not and yet is indicates that it exists in a different form. The seven heads: Syria, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the future head are all tangible and visible. For something to be "of the seven" and yet to be "the eight" and to "be not" and "yet be" indicates that it is largely invisible as a beast and covert instead of overt. In addition, the fact that it is of the seven indicates that it has been around all along throughout the reign of the overt seven head, ten-horn beast. This indicates a secret organization that has beastly (multinational) dominion.

Nimrod was a kingdom builder and sought to build a one-world kingdom when he built Babel and the tower. God, of course, thwarted his attempts with the confusion of tongues. Such a covert organization would have as it main goal to build a one-world government. There are several references in the scriptures to kingdom builders:

    1. Ps. 22:22 "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner."

    2. Ezek. 27:4 "Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty."

    3. Matt. 21:42 "Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."

    4. Mk. 12:10 "And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: 11 This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?"

    5. Acts 4:11 "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner."

    6. 1 Peter 2:7 "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."

There are several secret organizations in the world today, working in secret to direct the course of human events toward a one-world government. One only has to look on the back of the one-dollar bill to see the term "novus ordo seclorum" which means new world order along with the unfinished pyramid topped off by the all-seeing eye. This indicates that the builders are planning a new world order in which the all-seeing eye will be worshipped (Satan).

"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." This simply states that all the non-elect will wonder at the beast and the woman carried by the beast. I was recently asked if the woman and the beast could deceive the elect. My answer was "what did John do in verse 6?: Rev. 17:6 "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." If even the apostle can be deceived at the natural beauty and organization of the woman and the beast, then she could deceive any of God's unsuspecting people. We do know, however, that all the non-elect wonder at her and the beast.

Rev. 17:12, 13

Rev. 17:12 "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast."

In Daniel Chapter 7, Daniel has a vision of four beasts that had seven heads and ten horns. From the description in this chapter, it would appear that the ten horns came up in the days of the Roman Empire. Prophesies of these ten heads are in the following verses in Daniel Chapter 7:

    1. Dan. 7:7 "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. 9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire."

    2. Dan. 7:20 "And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom."

    3. Dan. 7:24 "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."

Now we make the following observations from Daniel Chapter 7 regarding the prophesy of the ten horns. These horns arose in the Roman Empire about the time of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. These horns represented ten kings and the horn that arose after the ten kings, arose at the time of the Lord's ministry on earth. Thus, these ten horns could not be the same ten horns that are prophesied of in the book of Revelations. The ten horns in the time of the writing of the book of Revelations had "received no kingdom as yet." They were to arise at a future date. Their time of reign is to be very short (one hour) and they would reign with the beast. Since they would reign with the beast at a future time, and the sixth head of the beast is Rome, then they would of necessity reign in the time of the seventh head. This seventh head is described in the twentieth chapter of Revelation and we will discuss the seventh head at that time.

By implication, the Lord judged Judaism with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., yet Judaism lives on through her harlot daughters. Judaism will continue until the end of time on earth.