17:7 The angel promised to interpret these revelations that were so baffling to John, particularly the mystery concerning the woman and the beast. More information about the beast follows in verses 7-14 and more about the woman in verses 15-18. The beast supplied the woman's power and purpose. He had seven heads and 10 horns, which the angel explained later (vv. 9-10).
17:8 The beast, as we have already seen, is Antichrist (13:1-3). Here the angel referred to his resuscitation of a formerly dead nation (cf. 13:3, 12, 14).568Evidently this resuscitation will happen at the middle of the Tribulation.569The beast comes out of the abyss, the home of Satan (11:7) and the hold of his demons (9:1-2, 11), when he revives this nation. This suggests that Satan will give him supernatural powers when he does this. Finally Jesus Christ will destroy him forever (19:20).
The beast's resuscitation of this nation will greatly impress earth-dwellers (i.e., unbelievers; cf. 13:3). They will conclude that he is a divine savior, but really he will be a demonic slaughterer. He will deceive everyone but the elect (i.e., believers; cf. 13:8; Matt. 24:24; Mark 13:22).
17:9 The angel prefaced his identification of the beast's seven heads with a statement that understanding this part of the revelation requires wisdom (cf. 13:18). Evidently many would incorrectly identify these seven heads. Indeed various writers have suggested a multitude of different interpretations. The most popular of these include seven Roman emperors,570the seven hills of Rome,571and various non-literal views, such as the following.
"By his use of seven, he indicates completeness or wholeness. The seven heads of the beast symbolize fullness of blasphemy and evil. It is much like our English idiom the seven seas,' i.e., all the seas of the world."572
Verses 9-11 are an exposition or clarification of verse 8. The text is always its own best interpreter. The seven heads are "seven kings"(v. 10). They are the heads and personifications of seven empires (cf. Dan. 7:17, 23). The angel also referred to them as "mountains"(v. 9). In the Bible a mountain is a symbol of a prominent government (cf. Ps. 30:7; 68:15-16; Isa. 2:2; 41:15; Jer. 51:25; Dan. 2:35, 44; Hab. 3:6, 10; Zech. 4:7).
"The call for special wisdom in v. 9a probably has in view the ability to grasp this double meaning of the mountains [i.e., as individuals and kingdoms]."573
The woman sits over the seven rulers and empires, but she is not one of them. She exercises authority over them.
17:10 The seven kings are rulers over seven kingdoms. The prominent one in John's day that "is"was certainly the Roman Empire. The five most prominent world powers preceding Rome that had fallen are probably Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece.574The Old Babylonian Empire may have been the first (Gen. 10:8-10). The seventh kingdom that was yet to come and would remain a little while is the beast's kingdom (13:3; 17:8).575All of these kingdoms have persecuted or will persecute God's people (cf. Ezek. 29-30; Nah. 3:1-19; Isa. 21:9; Jer. 50-51; Dan. 10:13; 11:2-4). Another common view is that the number seven is symbolic and stands for the power of the Roman Empire as a whole.576
17:11 Evidently the beast is one of the seven in the sense that his first kingdom is on a par with the seven major empires just mentioned. He is the eighth in that he establishes an eighth major empire with a worldwide government after he revives a previously dead nation having received supernatural powers from Satan. This explanation views the beast's kingdom before his revival as the seventh kingdom and his kingdom after these events as the eighth.577A variation of this view sees the seventh kingdom as the revived Roman Empire and the eighth as the beast's kingdom, which comprises the revived Roman Empire and all other nations.578
Jesus Christ will destroy the beast and his (eighth) kingdom when He returns to the earth. It will not just "fall"as the other major empires did.
17:12 The specific identity of the 10 horns (other kings but without kingdoms when John wrote) is not yet clear.579They will be allies of the beast and serve under him in his worldwide government during the Great Tribulation (Dan. 7:23-24). Each of them will rule a kingdom simultaneously with one another and with the beast (cf. Dan. 7:7-8, 24).580They will have authority to rule "for one hour,"only very briefly during the Great Tribulation (cf. 18:10, 17, 19). Evidently their short, independent rule will immediately precede the return of Jesus Christ to the earth (v. 14). The beast will give them their authority, but God will permit him to do so.
17:13 The single purpose of these end-time kingdoms is to rule the world (v. 14). The 10 rulers will submit to the Antichrist's leadership to achieve this end. Evidently he will have to put down three of them who revolt against him (Dan. 7:24; cf. Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3).
17:14 At the very end of the Tribulation these kings will fight against Jesus Christ as He returns to earth (cf. 16:14, 16; 19:19-21). The Lamb will defeat them and will prove to be Lord of lords and King of kings (19:16), the title Antichrist seeks to claim in his worldwide empire.
Those with Christ accompany Him from heaven (cf. 19:14). They are the called, the elect, and the faithful. These are probably three terms for the same group, namely, believers, rather than three different groups of believers. The three terms become progressively more specific. Those chosen for salvation are elected by the Father (cf. Eph. 1:4-5). They are the same ones who then respond to God's grace by faithfully believing on Him. These believers who accompany Christ from heaven will be Christians and Tribulation martyrs.
