Revelation 17

In Short - Interpretation

The Woman = The Roman Catholic Church

The Scarlet Beast = The 2,600 year long empire from Daniel (600 BC) until the return of Jesus

Many waters = The nations of Europe, which were first ruled by the RC church

                            and later by the beast

Seven heads = (1) The seven hills of Rome, the seat of the  RC Church

                           (2) The seven phases of the empire - (1) Babylon - (2) Mede -

                           (3) Persia - (4) Ptolemy - (5)   Seleucid - (6) Rome -

                           (7) The USA until the civil war

Short time = From 1776 (foundation) until 1861 (start civil war)

The beast, the eighth = The USA after the civil war until now as global empire

The abyss = (1) Spiritual: The underground space where evil spirits remai;

                      (2) Literal: Underground command center of the beast empire

Perdition = The total defeat and destruction of the USA at the return of Jesus

The ten horns = The nations of Europe that came from the Roman empire

Give their power to the beast = Europe became a vassal of the US-empire

Reign as kings with the beast = Europe defies democracy in order to wage

                                                        war on the side of the beast

One hour = The hour of temptation, the 3.5 years that are the main subject

                      of the book of Revelation

The ten horns hating the woman = The nations of Europe came under the

                                                               influence of 'the beast' (freemasonry) and

                                                               took down chuch power -

                                                               French Revolution (1789)-Napoleon (1815)

Great city = the center of world control, first Rome, later the USA.

 

 

In Short - Explanation

Revelation 17 shows us the historical development of the relationship between the last phase of the empire, the USA, called 'the beast', and the nations of Europe. The scarlet beast, the empire, is seen as subjected to a woman, a prostitute, called 'Mystery Babylon the Great'. The woman symbolizes the Roman Catholic Church, which has ruled over the nations of Europe from the moment that the Roman empire went down. For more than 1,000 years the Roman Catholic Church was Europe's undisputed master. The church collaborated with the kings and governments of the world (her fornication), twisted the holy scriptures to serve her own political aims, striving after earthly riches (the jewelry she is dressed with) and persecuted the saints that criticized her behavior (the cup in her hand, filled with blood).

 

Most of the chapter is however dedicated to the beast that the woman sits upon, having seven heads and ten horns. The seven heads of the beast have a dual meaning. (1) The seven mountains of the city of Rome, that for all those centuries had been the seat of power of the Roman Catholic Church. (2) The seven phases of the empire that through history had impacted the people of God, the Jews - (1) Babylon - (2) Mede - (3) Persia - (4) Ptolemy - (5)   Seleucid - (6) Rome - (7) The USA until the civil war. The text says that 'five have fallen' - Indeed at the time of John all empires from Babylon till the Greek kingdoms were gone. The text say that 'one is now' - Indeed, when John received the prophecy, Rome was the actual empire. The text states that 'one is yet to come and to remain for a short time' - Indeed, the USA was still far in the future and its existence as 7th head, till the civil war, lasted less than a century.

 

Then follows an important sentence: 'And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition'. The beast as 'the eighth' is the USA in its development after the civil war, growing into an empire that for the first time would encompass the complete globe. It is the pinnacle of power of mankind, to be destroyed by the Son of man at his return - it goes to perdition. The persons constituting the beast will be cast into the lake of fire. The USA 'came out of' the seven heads, meaning that the intelligence by which it is guided also forms its historical roots, all foregoing stages of empire that still exert their influence in present-day US-policy. That is why US policy is so incomprehensible and often contradictory. It is the true 'deep state' - much profounder than the CIA or the Pentagon or the CFR.

 

The then horns on the head of the beast are the ten Nations of Europe, that existed in 1776, when the US was founded. After the civil war, the beast became mighty and conquered the 3 most powerful European nations, Spain (1898), Germany (1918) and GB (1944) - which was prophesied in Daniel 7. By doing so, the USA subdued the complete European continent and gained worldwide hegemony. Therefore the text states that the ten horns give their power to the beast and that they will rule as kings with the beast, for one hour. That hour is the short Endtime of 3.5 years, also called 'the hour of temptation' in  Revelation 3:10, with the USA as undisputed tyrant of the world. We see that hour fast approaching, with Europe's politicians acting as a total lackeys to Trump and with democratic values totally and shamelessly eroding. The propaganda of the rift between the USA and the EU on the issue of Ukraine is in fact nothing but a division of labor, in which Europe is to take on Russia, while the USA is pivoting to the Middle East and to Asia. At the end of the 3.5 year Endtime, the ten horns will even try to take on the Lamb of God, the returning Jesus, but they will be totally defeated.

 

But what happened to the woman? She has been brought down - made lonely, naked, her flesh eaten, burnt with fire. The horns have accomplished this, before the beast would fully display itself. This happened soon after the founding of the USA (1776). The French Revolution (1789) and the Napoleonic wars (1803-1815) swept the European continent and nothing remained of the political power of Roman Catholicism. In the two ages that followed, secularization took over the West, in a free flow of new ideas, inventions and techniques, most of which were commercialized by the USA. The world started following the beast instead of the church. All that remained of the church was an outward appearance, which proved very useful to the beast as a cover for its true character and intentions. And so deceptive was the outward appearance of the beast, that even the rudimentary remains of the church were able to hide the power by which she was defeated. For very few expositors of Revelation point to the USA as the origin of secularization. 

 

Much of what is presented in Revelation 17 precedes Revelation 13 in time. However, the Holy Spirit first wanted to make us acquainted with the rise and the Endtime actions of the beast in Chapter 13. Once the last and most heavy judgments will strike the empire, the moment has come to give the reader more insight in the historical developments behind it. Those developments unmask it as 'Babylon the Great' - the entity that will be crippled by the first six vials and that will be totally devastated by the 7th vial. All of these vials will be filled with God's wrath, seen in Chapter 16. In Chapter 17, we see the historical development that explains the relationship between the last empire and the name 'Babylon the Great', which it inherited from 'the woman' that was cast down. In Revelation 18 we are introduced to the economic, judicial and ethical aspects of the destruction of the world empire.

 

The last verse is a transition to the next chapter 18, which shows the total destruction of the USA as an economic entity.

 

In Revelation 21, the Lord shows us what will replace the USA of Babylon the Great. It will be replaced by the new Jerusalem, that will descend out of heaven from God. The replacement is seen by two identical intoductory sentences of Babylon the Great and of the New Jerusalem:

Babylon the Great: "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying o me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters."

New Jerusalem: "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 

The replacement of the USA by the New Jerusalem is also seen in the measurements of the New Jerusalem: 'The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs' The root word is not furlongs but stadion, which was about 600 feet or 185 meter. If one takes 12,000 times 185 meter one gets 2,220 km. A square of 2,220 km exactly fits within the borders of the USA on the North (Canada) and on the South (the Gulf of Mexico / Mexico).

 

The tale of history becomes the following: the wife of the Lamb, the church, became a harlot, leaving Christ, her Master, for wealth and power on earth, while doing business with earth's rulers and submitting them to her power as representative of God. The rulers began to detest and hate her and made her powerless, took her wealth and gave it all to the beast that came up among them. The beast used the outward appearance of Christianity to hide its true character but in the Endtime, it will fully display its evil and demonic character in order to maintain its power. At the return of Christ the beast will be judged and those that remained faithfull to Him through history will finally take the place on top of the world, as body of Christ.