FBC Daily Devotions

Read Revelation 17:9-14.

In our passage today we are given the identification of the seven heads of the beast, the beast himself, and the ten horns of the beast. This is a very full passage requiring your full attention, so get ready, here we go…

The seven heads of the beast are said to be hills (NIV). A better translation would be “mountains”. These hills or mountains are said to be kings of which five have fallen, one is in existence, and one is yet to come. While some believe these seven hills as the seven hills of Rome and specific kings or rulers of Rome, it is probably more accurate to see these hills or mountains as empires throughout history (most popular view) as the Bible often refers to kingdoms as mountains. Looking back from John’s day, there were five major kingdoms leading up to the Roman Empire: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. The sixth mountain would be the current Roman Empire ruling during John’s day. The seventh kingdom would be a still future kingdom. Sounds confusing? Trust me, it could be more confusing if I were to bring in details from Daniel’s prophecy! Well, let’s give some context to this.

After the seven kingdoms have risen, there will be an eighth king – the Antichrist (i.e. the beast who once was, now is not) – who will belong to the seven kingdoms. This is likely a reference to his belonging to the same underlying power as the seven (i.e. Satan, the dragon). What this seems to mean is that some time in the future, there will rise a seventh significant kingdom from which the Antichrist figure will emerge. Let’s keep going…

The ten horns are actually ten kingdoms according to the Revelation. From what I can see, these ten kingdoms will form some kind of alliance or federation (cf. Dan. 7:24 for remarkable similarity). Out of this federation, the eighth king or Antichrist will emerge. This ten-horned alliance will give the Antichrist power and authority (Rev. 17:13). This has led me to believe that the seventh and yet future kingdom is this 10 kingdom federation (others may disagree here).

What does all this mean? I will go out on a limb and give what I believe could be the chronology of future events:

1. A future major kingdom will be established (the 7^th mountain, possibly composed of 10 nations. Others see a revived Roman Empire.).
2. A very charismatic and influential leader will emerge out of the federation (i.e. the Antichrist).
3. Christ will return for His people (i.e. the rapture, 2 Thes. 2:1-4). [debatable]
4. The Anti-Christ along with the federation will attempt to destroy everything that is of God and gain the allegiance of the world.

Of course, I would never hold very tightly to this view. It is fragile at best as are most attempts to give a chronology of future events.

If this chronology is accurate, though, it gives us a hint of what we might be looking forward to. How could this news affect your thinking on and perspective of the world today?

-Mike