THE EIGHT KING

 Key verses...

 

 

  • Revelation 17:10, "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."
  • Revelation 17:11, "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition."

Before trying to figure out who the 8th king is, we must find out when this prophecy is to occur. Some believe the five kings that are fallen are the nations that fell before John received the Revelation from Christ on the Isle of Patmos. Problem with that theory is the "time frame" that was being set in the vision itself. In Revelation 21:9,10 we see the angel showing John a scene where the city of Heaven is descending from above. This can only cause John to think of the END of time, not years previous to the vision. In fact, at the beginning of Revelation 17 we see the angel invited John to "...Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:" (Revelation 17:1) Basic reality here is, the judgment is not to occur "before" John's day. This vision is definitely depicting a time in the future. Revelation 17 must be understood as beginning in the "time of the judgment" which in fact began at the end of Daniel's 2300 year, or the year 1844ad. (See more info on that here)

 

 

By the way, this is also the same time frame of Daniel chapter 7 judgment scene...

  • Daniel 7:10, "... the judgment was set, and the books were opened."

 ...Revelation 10 and the little book...

  • Revelation 10:10, "And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter."

...the preaching of the first angels message...

  • Revelation 14:6-7, "...for the hour of his judgment is come:..."

 

 

When the children of God were trying to decipher the prophecies, they saw a wonderful event soon to occur. (sweet as honey) But later realized they were in error. (belly was bitter) They thought the 2300 year prophecy of Daniel was to end on October 22, 1844 with the second coming of Christ. They got the date correct for the ending of the 2300 year prophecy, but the event at the end of that prophecy they simply got wrong. He was not returning to earth that day as was obvious on October 23. He was actually stepping out of the Sanctuary to begin the work of the investigative judgment on that day. (Which by the way is happening right NOW!)

Isn't that awesome that the prophecy even PREDICTS the true Remnant of God making a mistake in prophetic understanding as well as proclamation? ALL of them believed Christ was coming back October 22, 1844 (sweet as honey) but when October 23 arrived it was indeed bitter in their belly!

Plus, there are other aspects of the prophecy in Revelation that solidifies the timetable for this prophecy. Verse 11 of Revelation 17 speaks of the beast that "was and is not" as an "eighth" king that is "of the seven" and will be seen as one that "goeth into perdition." Realizing that the remainder of the statement made in Revelation 17:8 where it identifies the beast as "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition:..." It is obvious that it is speaking of the same beast of the end times; because later in the exact same verse it declares that this is also the same beast, "...that was, and is not, and yet is."

So the beast in verse 17 that is described as "the one that was, and is not... and will goeth into perdition" is the very same beast of verse 8, where it speaks of it as both the beast that  "was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition" as well as "the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." Same beast, just two different descriptions of it's true characteristics.

Click here for a "pop up" that will biblically and historically explain the beast that "was, is not, yet is" so as to better understand the Truth in this prophecy. After reading the facts, you will no doubt come to the understanding that BOTH history and prophecy prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Roman Catholic church is in fact the beast that "was... is not... yet is." After reading the "pop up" you will see the following facts come to light...

  • The Beast that was: Is the Roman church that began in 538ad and continued until Napoleon sent in General Berthier in 1798ad
  • ...and is not: From 1798ad until the signing of the Lateran treaty in 1929 the Roman Church/state power was non-existent. Therefore the Roman church "is not" a ruling power at this time.
  • ...yet is: From 1929 to present the Roman Church has been a church & state. The "yet is" aspect of the prophecy states that though this beast was mortally wounded, it will return and regain its former power. That day is upon us now. (Click here for more info on this prophetic event)

So, who are these five kings that are fallen, as well as who is the one that is, and one that is not yet come, of Revelation 17:10 that leads us to discover the eight king?

 

 

The five kings that have fallen are...

  1. Babylon
  2. Persia
  3. Greece
  4. Roman Empire
  5. Roman Catholic church (After 1798AD it became beast that "is not.")

 

 

  • Revelation 17:10, "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."

All five of the "kings" in the above table have already fallen at this point in the prophetic statement of Revelation 17:10. The king that "is," is in fact the Roman Catholic church with the wound. Judging by the chronological order of events listed in the prophecy, we see that the time of this vision is for the "hour of judgment", or the "end times", beginning in the king 6's wounded period of time of 1798 through 1844.

1844 is a very important time to understand here. It is when the investigative judgment began. The reason I say this is important, is because the angel is telling John in the vision that he is about to see the "judgment" of the great whore in verse one of Revelation 17, which by the way is the chapter we are now digging into. This in fact is in tune with Daniel 7 as well as Revelation 10.

The king that "is not yet come" will eventually be the Roman Catholic church with the wound completely healed. If you watch the movements of the Vatican in today's world, one will see just how accurate this prophecy is. All the pieces are quickly being put in place so as to assure the Vatican desire of a one world government come to be. (Click here for the present pope's activity with the NWO) Soon this eight king will have all its persecuting powers return unto it. Many true Christians will once again find themselves being killed for their faith in Christ that not only opposes the Catholic faith, it exposes it with child like ease as being evil. In fact, prophecy stated we would know who the "man of sin" was in the last days. This greatly angers the dragon as Revelation 12:17 declares is unavoidable. 

This identifies ALL seven kings. But what of the eighth? The prophecy gives us graphic clues to this that are extremely obvious. It plainly says, "...the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven" This beast that "was, is not and yet is," is the Roman Catholic church, is it not? And the Roman Catholic church is also "of the seven" as history has already proven. It was of the original five in its infancy when it killed the Christians for 1260 years, and it is also "of the seven" when it "is not" killing Christians thanks to Napoleon sending in General Berthier to remove the Pope from power.

If you notice, the beast ISN'T an eighth "head" is it? The prophecy just states plainly that the beast that "was, is not, and yet is" is the eighth king. Still, an "eighth" king does in fact suggest a "different" or "new" king right? Yes it does! And after you see the Roman Catholic church standing up with all heads in play, the entire beast will be seen. In other words, the eighth beast is actually the entire beast standing there with the seven heads. Each head is a "kingdom" unto itself, yes; but the eighth beast is all seven kingdoms working together one one beast. That wicked conglomerate actually makes him KING #8.

Some have gone so far as to publish works that claim all those that preach this Truth are mistaken in calculating the heads of Revelation 17. In fact I just received an email stating that today.

Email from one proclaiming we are in error...

Seventh-day Adventist make a grave mistake in counting the horns, heads, etc from Daniel. He was prophesying for the king of Babylon concerning his kingdom and those that would follow. But we forget that he lived about 536 b.c. & there were approximately 3400 years previous, not taken into consideration.

Great Controversy points out that the worst two kings against God and His people, were the Pharaoh of Egypt and the king of the Assyrians. Revelation takes those two into consideration with  the 7 kings portrayed. Verse 10 "And there are seven kings: five are fallen , and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space...."  I will list the five that are fallen and the rest after  a spacing:-

1) Egypt
2) Assyria
3) Babylon       In John's day these 5 were fallen.
4) Medo-Persia
5) Grecia

6) Rome - Pagan and Papal - "AND ONE IS" - John lived in the time of this "one is" - Rome
7) U. S. A.  - Rome in Europe persecuting and USA in the west.
8) The Beast - Rome "Even he is the eighth, and is of [ made up of ] the seven.

This person, as well as many other proclaim a "different" order for the 7 heads. So that no misunderstanding is generated, I would like to allow the Author of "God Cares I & II" C. Mervyn Maxwel to address this misconception himself. In his book, "God Cares II" on pages, 471-475 he states the following...

 

 

Your Questions Answered... (RE: Rev 17)

         What are the “beast,” the “harlot,” the “seven heads,” and the “ten horns?" We observed on page 458 that Revelation 17 contains a perplexing puzzle. It talks about the “beast” that “was, and is not, and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition”; “it is eighth but it belongs to the seven.” “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated.” They are also “seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come.” Verses 8, 11, 9, 10.

           As for the “ten horns,” they are “ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind and give over their power and authority to the beast; they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them.” “And the ten horns.., and the beast will hate the harlot; they will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire.” Verses 12-14, 16.

          A person is tempted to sigh, “Impossible!” Yet chapter 17 is as much a part of “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1) as is any other chapter in the book. There’s a blessing to all who read it (Revelation 1:3). We should make an effort to understand.

          Indeed we may find that the solution is simpler than we supposed. 

A survey of interpretations. Many interpretations of this puzzle have been offered over the years. One interpretation of the “seven heads” starts with a list of seven Roman emperors as “heads” of the Roman state: Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, Caligula, Nero, and so on. Another cites a string of successive Roman administrative styles: republic, consular, triumvir, decemvir, and more. Still another interpretation offers a succession of seven end-time popes, as heads of the Roman Church.

          Now, in Jeremiah 51:24, 25 and Daniel 2:35, 44, 45, a “mountain” is a symbol of a kingdom or nation. See page 238. With this in mind, one of the simplest of the many interpretations of our puzzle looks at the seven heads as seven persecuting powers viewed from the time when John was writing Revelation.

          In this scheme the five “heads” (or “mountains” or “kings”) which had “fallen” (before John’s day) are listed as Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. The head that “is” is seen as the Roman Empire, which was ruling in John’s day. The head that "has not yet come” is taken to be the Roman Church, which in many ways resembles a nation and which in John’s day had not yet risen to power. Egypt and especially Assyria were enemies of God’s people in Old Testament times. We are familiar with the other governments. 

            As for the “ten horns” which are “ten kings,” they are perceived in this interpretation to be the nations of Europe, which in John’s day were not yet in place. The “hour” they were to reign is the 1260 days. This interpretation has much to commend it.

          There is another fairly simple interpretation, one which, however, views the puzzle from the end time rather than from John’s day. It sees the five “fallen” heads as Babylon, Persia, Greece, Roman Empire, and Christian Rome. The sixth head (in the end time) “is” Christian Rome in its wounded state, to be followed soon by the seventh head that “has not yet come,” Christian Rome in its revived condition. The “hour” when the ten kings reign with the beast is a brief period at the very end of time when with dictatorial intensity they aid the beast in reviving harsh persecution. For an overview, see charts on these pages.

          Three basic questions. There are three basic questions that we ought to ask when trying to understand our puzzle: (1) From what time frame are we to look at it? (2) Are we to use any persecuting powers that we haven’t already met in our study of Daniel and Revelation? and (3) Is the language to be taken as it stands or in an accommodated sense? Let’s look at the questions one at a time.

          1. The time frame. In Revelation 21:9, an angel invited John to watch the holy city come down from heaven. This invitation certainly carried John’s mind forward to the end of the millennium. Similarly, at the beginning of Revelation 17 (the chapter we’re now studying) an angel gave John an invitation to come and see the “judgment” of the great harlot. This invitation drew his mind forward to the beginning of the end time. See pages 422-425.

          So shouldn’t Revelation 17 be interpreted from the viewpoint of 1798/1844 and later, the era of the judgment and the end time? This is the time frame for the judgment scene in Daniel 7, the opening of the little scroll in Revelation 10, and the preaching of the first angel’s message of Revelation 14:6, 7, “The hour of his judgment has come.” We have often reminded ourselves that the second half of Revelation, in which our puzzle is located, is concerned almost exclusively with the end time.

           2. The empires. It seems, too, that we should be reluctant to add empires (such as Egypt and Assyria) to the ones that are so prominent in Daniel and in the rest of Revelation. The prophecies of Daniel are our key to the interpretation of Revelation. Daniel gives us Babylon, Persia, Greece, Roman Empire, and the Roman Church, but says nothing about Egypt and Assyria.

           The beast of Revelation 17 is the same as the leopard-bodied beast of chapter 13, both of which stand in water and have seven heads and ten horns. There seem to be four animal symbols in chapters 12, 13, and 17—the dragon, the Iamb-horned beast, the leopard-bodied sea beast, and the scarlet-colored sea beast. However, Revelation 16:13 and 20:10 speak of them as only three, the “dragon” (or “devil”), the “false prophet” (which is the lamb-horned animal), and the “beast” (not the “beasts”).

           The dragon and the beast, both having seven heads and ten horns, represent one and the same spirit of church-state persecution. (Church-state persecution is a primary concern of Revelation.) Their seven heads call attention to the same sevenfold sequence of persecuting government. But whereas (a) the dragon calls special attention to non-Christian persecution, and (b) the beast calls attention to the old-fashioned Catholic-style persecution, (c) the lamb horned beast calls attention to end-time Protestantism as it finally lapses into a dragonlike, beastlike spirit of persecution.

           As for the two stages of the “beast” itself, its leopard-bodied stage (chapter 13) calls attention to persecution during the Middle Ages, and its scarlet-colored stage (chapter 17) calls attention first to its weakness at the beginning of the judgment hour and second to its dramatic but brief resurgence as an old-fashioned Catholic-style persecuting power immediately prior to the second coming.

           3. The language. A third guideline for interpreting the heads and horns, the harlot, and the beast is that some of the language in chapter 17 is used in an accommodated sense. We read in verse 8 that the beast “is not”; yet even while we’re listening to the angel tell us this, we’re looking at the beast through John’s eyes. We can see it standing in the water with the great harlot riding on its back!

           In a similar way, the ten kings are said in verse 12 to have “not yet received royal power.” But in verses 1 and 2 they have already as kings gone to bed with the harlot. “I will show you ... the great harlot,” says the angel, “with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication.” So they once did have royal power. In chapter 13 we saw them wearing their crowns during the 1260 years. In a little while from now they’re going to get “authority as kings” again (no doubt as totalitarian states) and rule with the beast for an “hour” (verse 12), during which they will “make war on the Lamb” (verse 14) and turn against the harlot (verse 16). See pages 441, 442.

           So the beast “is not” in comparison with what it used to be and in comparison with what it will be; and the same is true for the kings. After a manner of speaking, in a certain sense, in comparison with their tremendous though temporary future reign as oppressive totalitarian states, the kings haven’t yet begun to reign. They’re something like John Paul Jones, skipper of the Bonhomme Richard. As every American schoolchild knows, when John Paul Jones was already well embroiled with the British frigate Serapis he shouted out, “I have not yet begun to fight.” He had indeed begun to fight, but he said he hadn’t, in view of the punches he still intended to land.

  The beast an eighth but of we seven. What about the beast that is “an eighth” while it also “belongs to the seven”? Verse 11

             Let's  not make the problem too hard. The beast isn't an eighth head! It’s a beast, and the seven heads all belong to it!

          When we add up seven numbers we get a total, which is an eighth number. But this eighth number belongs to the seven; it is sum and substance of the others. When the beast’s head received a “mortal wound,” the beast as a whole was critically injured. And when the wound is healed, the beast as a whole is healed. Of course! See Revelation 13:3, 12, 14.

          During the beasts serious illness its lamb-horned rival occupies front center. The beast appears to have been upstaged permanently; but it hasn't been. In fact, the lamb-horned animal soon offers the beast its services in order to help it stage its comeback. The beast recovers and rises to its greatest power yet, as symbolized by its seventh head. See pages 340-349.

          Applying our three rules now, we see that of the “seven heads” the “five” that are “fallen” are entities familiar to us: (1) Babylon, (2) Persia, (3) Greece, (4) Roman Empire, and (5) Christian Rome. By the time of the vision (in the1798/1844 “judgment” era), Christian Rome "is" enduring a critical illness resulting from a “mortal wound.” So we are now living in the time of the sixth head—(6) Wounded Christian Rome—an unprecedented era of separation of church and state. The final head will be (7) Christian Rome Revived—and as it revives, the entire beast (“an eighth”) will realize its climactic self-actualization. The “ten horns,” which once represented the intolerant kingdoms of Europe and which are now more-or-less tolerant democracies, will momentarily become harshly intolerant totalitarian entities.

 

 

Truth is truth!