Who Are the Seven
Heads?
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Specification 5
“They are also seven
kings. Five have fallen, one is, the
other has not yet come; but when he
does come, he will remain for a
little while.”
(Revelation 17:10)
This specification is
very important because the timing of
this statement forces the identity of
the seven heads to be seven religious
systems. Using a past perfect tense,
the angel said, “Five [heads]
have fallen” to indicate action
completed in the past. To determine
when the five heads fell, we have to
determine the setting for this
conversation.
John received this
vision while he was on the isle of
Patmos (Revelation 1:9,10). Most
scholars agree that John was on
Patmos between A.D. 95-98. If we put
this angel’s statement within
the context of this conversation, his
words will perfectly align with
everything John wrote thus far about
the seven heads. In other words, five
of the seven heads had fallen
prior to A.D. 95.
According to
Webster’s Dictionary, the word
“fallen” is not limited to
“destroyed or collapsed.”
In a larger sense, “fallen”
can mean, “brought down” or
“demonstrated to be false or
corrupt.” If I said, “Jimmy
Bakker, former president of the PTL
Club, is a fallen
evangelist,” anyone remembering
the history of Jimmy Bakker would
understand this use of the word
“fallen.” Bakker was a
popular TV evangelist who was caught
up in a sex and money scandal. He was
publicly humiliated and disgraced
when the corruption leaked out to the
public. (Bakker was granted parole
from prison in July 1994, after
serving almost five years of his
original forty-five year sentence.)
Webster states that the word
“fallen” can mean,
“proven false.” In fact,
when the 144,000 gives the second
angel’s message, Babylon will
not be weak, destroyed, or collapsed.
The leopard-like beast will be
extremely powerful, but it will be
corrupt and blasphemous. “Fallen!
Fallen is Babylon the Great, which
made all the nations drink the
maddening wine of her adulteries. (Revelation
14:8)
If we put the
angel’s words within the
context of A.D. 95, a simple
explanation unfolds. When God became
flesh and dwelt among men, five
religious systems were exposed as
false. Think about this: In a world
of diverse, but religious equals, who
else but God can declare a
religious system false? Five of the
seven heads were proven false before
A.D. 95, and they are the following:
A.
Heathenism is a religious system
that operates in darkness. It does
not worship the true God of Heaven.
It does not know or have the Word of
God. This religious system is huge
and diverse, and it is often cruel
and hopeless. Nevertheless,
man’s ignorance does not lessen
God’s love for human beings
living in darkness. Because mankind
is inherently rebellious and
religious, their religious system
creates gods to address its fear,
fantasies, and superstitions. The
birth and ministry of Jesus proves
this religious system is false. “Jesus
answered, ‘I am the way [to
eternal life] and the truth {I
am telling you the truth about God] and
the life [I am showing you how
God wants you to live.]. No one
comes to the Father except through me
[through my atoning sacrifice].’”
(John 14:6, insertions
mine)
Note: It is
important to remember that God deals
with people corporately and
individually. Religious systems are
on thing and the members within that
system are another. Even though all
seven religious systems are false and
blasphemous, there are millions of
honest-hearted individuals within the
seven religious systems of the world.
Millions of dead heathen – those
who lived down through the ages
– will be given eternal life on
resurrection morning because they
stood for everything they knew to be
right and true, and they submitted to
the impressions of the Holy Spirit.
(Romans 2:14) These people will be
the beneficiaries of Christ’s
atoning sacrifice even though they
never had the opportunity to hear
about Jesus. (Zechariah 13:6) To
demonstrate that their salvation is
warranted, millions of heathen will
hear the 144,000 during the Great
Tribulation and they will embrace the
gospel and be saved. The response of
the living proves that an
honest-hearted person –
regardless of their religious
background – can be trusted with
eternal life. Jesus paid the price
for every honest-hearted sinner. He
will grant eternal life to billions
of dead Heathens, Atheists, Eastern
Mystics, Catholics, Protestants,
Moslems, and Jews who live in harmony
with God’s law (as far as they
understand it) and according to the
Spirit (as far as they understood
Him). God is unbelievably generous!
Amen!
B.
Atheism is a religious system
that denies the existence of God.
This belief system was proven false
the day Jesus was born. King David
wrote, “The fool says in his
heart, ‘There is no God.’
They [the fools] are corrupt,
their deeds are vile; there is no one
who does good. The Lord looks down
from heaven on the sons of men to see
if there are any who understand, any
who seek God.” (Psalm
14:1,2, insertion mine) Jesus
said He came from God, so who should
we believe? “Jesus said to
them [the Jews], ‘If God
were your Father, you would love me,
for I came from God and now am here.
I have not come on my own; but he
sent me.’” (John 8:42,
insertion mine)
C.
Judaism is a religious system
that denies that Jesus is God.
Judaism believes that salvation comes
through obedience. Jesus proved this
religious system false when He said, “I
tell you the truth, he who believes
[in me] has eternal life.” (John
6:47, insertion mine)
D.
Eastern Mysticism is a religious
system that worships many false gods.
Eastern Mysticism believes that self
can save self by overcoming cycles of
life and death. Eastern Mysticism
does not know or worship Jesus. Jesus
proved this system false in the same
way He rebuked the Jews for putting
traditions above the Word of God
saying, “Thus you nullify the
word of God by your tradition that
you have handed down. And you do many
things like that.” (Mark
7:13)
E. Islam
is a religious system that rejects
the divinity of Jesus. Islam does not
accept the premise that mankind needs
a sinless Savior. Jesus proved this
religious system false when He said, “For
God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life. For God did not
send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the
world through him. Whoever believes
in him is not condemned, but whoever
does not believe stands condemned
already because he has not believed
in the name of God’s one and
only Son.” (John 3:16-18)
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