The Beasts of
Revelation Exposed
What do They
Represent?
________________________
page l 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l 5 l 6 l 7 l 8 l
-4-
Who
are the Seven Heads?
So far, we have
established one point and asserted
one point about seven heads. The
established point is that each of the
seven heads is religious, anti-Christ
– and blasphemous. My asserted
point is that the wounded head is the
papacy. However, who are the other
six heads? The answer to this
question is quite simple. First, let
us gather all the data:
- Each
head is described as wearing
a blasphemous name.
(Revelation 13:1)
- One
head seemed to receive a
fatal wound, but the fatal
wound was healed. (Revelation
13:3)
- The
seven heads are seven hills
on which the woman sits.
(Revelation 17:9)
Comment: In
Revelation 17, each head is declared
to be seven mountains or hills (the
Greek word ‘oros is
correctly translated as hill or
mountain). This chapter repeats and
enlarges some of the details about
the composite beast described in
chapter 13. In chapter 17, however,
an evil woman called a whore is
introduced into the story and she
rides the beast. The imagery is
direct and simple – this evil
woman will eventually control the
composite beast, much like a rider
controls a powerful horse. Let us
focus on the details concerning the
seven heads. Verse 9 says the seven
heads are seven hills (or mountains,
KJV) on which the woman sits. What
does this mean?
Not
Just Any Place
In ancient times, God
was not worshiped “in just any
place.” Today, a church body may
look for property they can afford and
if the location and price is right, a
church is built. However, this was
not the case in ancient times. The
God of Heaven (as well as false gods)
was worshiped at special sites called
“high places” or holy
places located in the mountains.
Notice these Bible texts (there are
many more, but these will suffice):
Moses, looking forward
to Israel’s future, prophesied
the Lord would select a special place
for His temple. As it turns out, God
selected a mountain! Notice first,
the words of Moses: Deuteronomy
12:11 “Then to the place
the Lord your God will choose as a
dwelling for his Name – there
you are to bring everything I command
you: your burnt offerings and
sacrifices, your titles and special
gifts, and all the choice possessions
you have vowed to the Lord.” About
470 years later, the Lord identified
the specific place: 1
Chronicles 21:18 “Then the angel
of the Lord ordered [the prophet] Gad
to tell David to go up and build
an altar to the Lord on
the threshing floor of Araunah the
Jebusite.” About ten years
later, 2 Chronicles 3:1 records
the following: “Then Solomon
began to build the temple of the Lord
in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where
the Lord had appeared to his father
David. It was on the
threshing floor of Araunah
the Jebusite, the place provided by
David.” The point here, of
course, is that God placed His temple
on a mountaintop in a very specific
place.
Before Solomon built
the temple, notice where the people
worshiped. “The people,
however, were still sacrificing at
the high places, because
a temple had not yet been built for
the Name of the Lord. Solomon showed
his love for the Lord by walking
according to the statutes of his
father David, except that he offered
sacrifices and burned incense on the high
places.” (1 Kings
3: 2,3) Years later, after
Solomon died, Israel’s apostasy
matured. Notice what they did: “They
also set up for themselves high
places, sacred stones and
Asherah poles on every high
hill and under every
spreading tree. There were even male
shrine prostitutes in the land; the
people engaged in all the detestable
practices of the nations
the Lord had driven out before the
Israelites.” (1 Kings
14:23,24)
These few verses
explain why the seven heads are
called seven hills (or mountains). In
ancient times, mountains were
believed to be the footstools of God
(or gods). (Exodus 19:12; Psalm 95:5;
1 Chronicles 28:2) Remember
God’s dramatic presence on the
mountains of Sinai, Carmel and
Moriah? (Fire came down and consumed
the offerings of Solomon at the
dedication of the temple that was
built on Mt. Moriah.) Therefore, it
should not seem strange that
mountains were believed to be
footstools of the gods in ancient
times. Many native religions still
believe their gods dwell on the
mountaintops to this very day. God is
direct and to the point –
symbolism is both direct and simple
– the seven heads are seven
hills. Even David helps us understand
this concept: “I will lift
mine eyes unto the hills, from whence
cometh my help.” (Psalm
121:1 KJV)
Capital Hill
Americans should
easily grasp the concept of
describing religious (or religious
authorities) as hills since we refer
to the official building of our
lawmakers in Washington D.C. as Capital
Hill. If we assemble the
information that has been studied so
far, the weight of the evidence
points to this conclusion: The seven
heads are seven blasphemous religions
systems (or authorities) that people
look up to as having the truth about
God.
- They
are also seven kings.
(Revelation 17:10)
This part of
the equation is also simple. The
seven heads are seven kings. A king
has authority; therefore, he has a
kingdom of subjects. Because each
religious system has authority, it
has subjects. Those who
“join” or submit to the
tenants of a religion submit to its
laws and regulations as subjects.
Thus, the seven religious systems of
the world can be called
“kings” for they truly have
subjects.
- Five
have fallen, one is,
the other has not yet
come; but when he does come,
he must remain for a little
while. (Revelation 17:10)
This verse
will support everything presented
thus far. To locate when the
five heads are fallen, we need to
decide when the conversation takes
place between John and the angel. The
Bible says this vision came to John
on the isle of Patmos (Revelation
1:9,10). The vision occurred between
A.D.95 and A.D.98. I take the
angel’s statement to be
understood to be true as of that
date. This means the five heads
were fallen before A.D. 98. If this
is true, a simple explanation
resolves the identity of the seven
heads and satisfies these
specifications.
According to
Webster, the term “fallen”
is not limited to “destroyed or
collapsed”; rather, in a larger
sense it can mean “brought
down” or demonstrated to be
“false.” If I were Jimmy
Bakker, formerly of the PTL Club, was
a fallen evangelist, the reader would
understand that Jimmy fell from
respect and honor by his wrongdoing.
If we go back to the time of A.D.
95-98 and place the angel’s
words in their context of when it
was written, we find a simple
solution to solving the mystery
within this verse. When Jesus became
flesh and dwelt among men, five
religious systems were “brought
down” or exposed as false. Thus,
five of the seven heads were
fallen in A.D. 95. The ministry and
teaching of Jesus unmasked the vain
and foolish teachings of man. These
five religious systems predate the
birth of Jesus:
- Heathenism
- Atheism
- Islam*
- Judaism
- Eastern
Mysticism
*The title
“Islam” refers to the
Arabic faith. Although the title
today is often associated with the 6th
century A.D. influence of Mohammed,
the title Islam as used here,
identifies the ancient Arabic faith
from which Mohammedan grew. Even
though Mohammed is believed by the
Christians to be the founder of
Islam, it must be emphasized that
Mohammed did not invent the Islamic
faith. Rather, he united, organized
and expanded the beliefs of nomadic
Arabians. Even though he is
considered by Moslems to be the
first, and therefore the greatest of
God’s messengers, Moslems trace
the origin of their faith back to
Ishmael and his 12 sons. Moslems
regard Ishmael as the father of their
faith and not Mohammed. (See Genesis
21:13)
These five
religious systems are anti-Christ and
were proven false by the birth of
Jesus for the following basic
reasons:
1.
Heathenism is religion apart
from the knowledge of the true God of
Heaven. In this religious system, man
creates his own gods according to
fantasy or whim.
2.
Atheism denies the existence
of the God of Heaven and His claims
upon man.
3.
Judaism rejects the teachings
of Jesus as the Messiah and seeks
salvation through obedience and
ceremonies.
4.
Eastern Mysticism teaches that
man can become God.
5.
Islam also denies that Jesus
is the Son of God and is not the
Savior of the world.
page l 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l 5 l 6 l 7 l 8 l
-4-
