TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY IN BIBLE PROPHECY
Lesson 38: The decline of the last beast's seven heads, the ten horns'
rise to prominence, and the beast's relationship with
Mystery Babylon, tomorrow's world capital.
I The vision of a woman sitting on a scarlet beast.
1 And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came
and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I shall show you the
judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of
immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made
drunk with the wine of her immorality."
3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness;
and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of
blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and
adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in
her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean
things of her immorality, (Rev. 17:1-4, NASB).
A The meaning of the imagery of "the judgment of the great
harlot who sits on many waters."
1 The harlot represents the international government's
capital city.
2 The imagery of "many waters" stands for the world's
people that Mystery Babylon will control through the
new religious order and the computerized international
financial system.
3 The city's relationship with the world government is
depicted here as a woman sitting on a seven-headed,
ten-horned, "scarlet"-colored beast.
4 In other words, the nations that will set up
tomorrow's international government will support the
cost of running the capital city.
B What does the color scarlet or red reveal?
1 Scarlet identifies Red China's hand in molding the
international government's bureaucratic machinery
into a murderous tool of oppression.
2 Once in place, the Chinese will use the ruthless
institutions of the world government to dominate and
control the nations.
C How do we know that this is the correct interpretation
of the color red?
- From the authority of John's initial introduction of
the Fourth Beast: "And the dragon gave to it the
power of it and the throne of it and great authority"
(Rev. 13:2, IGENT).
D How do recent developments in China conform to the
Revelation's forewarning that Red China's hard-line
communist policies will eventually come to dominate the
governing character of the Fourth Beast?
1 In recent years Red China has acknowledged the
failure of its communist economic policies and rushed
to embrace free-market practices.
2 During the same period of economic change, however,
the Communist Party's firm central political control
over the people has remained absolute.
a Authorities still watch, program and keep a
detailed dossier on each Chinese citizen.
b All dissent is simply liquidated.
c Such was the case in 1989 when the Red Army
brutally crushed the democracy movement in
Tiananmen Square.
3 According to the imagery of the last beast's scarlet
color, hard-line communists will ultimately prevail
over any future Chinese democracy movements, and they
will also eventually succeed in shaping the character
of the governing institutions of the Fourth Beast.
E What does the imagery of the harlot "having in her hand a
gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of
her immorality represent?"
1 It shows that this religious capital city will
enrich itself through the instruments of treachery,
oppression, murder, and other acts of abomination.
2 For example, Christians who will not be able to buy
or sell, will lose their property and other assets to
the international government.
3 The imagery suggests that the Fourth Beast will
finance its murderous operation, in part, through
the sale of confiscated goods and other assets
taken from undesireables such as Christians.
F What pretext might the international government use to
justify its persecution of the world's Christians?
- The idea that Christian dissent against the new world
secular and religious order could stir up unrest that
would lead to another devastating nuclear conflict.
5 And upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery,
"BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints,
and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I
saw her, I wondered greatly (Rev. 17:5-6, NASB).
A The Apostle John wondered why the mysterious name,
"Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the
abominations of the earth," was written on the harlot's
forehead.
B A history of ancient Babylon's origin, found in the
writings of the Jewish historian, Josephus, provides
some insight into this mystery.
1 Josephus noted that after the great flood the sons of
Noah settled in the plain of Shinar.
2 Although God had instructed them to spread abroad,
one of Noah's great-grandsons, Nimrod, led a
rebellion against God's instruction and persuaded the
people to build a tower and the city called Babylon.
3 According to Josephus, Nimrod's goal was to bring
everyone under his control for the purpose of
enhancing his own personal power and importance.
4 Although Nimrod's plan got off to a good start,
Gen. 11 reports that the rebellious kingdom was
destroyed when God stepped in and confounded the
peoples' language and so scattered its inhabitants
abroad.
C According to Daniel, another great kingdom of Babylon
was built by Nebuchadnezzar about 1600 years later.
1 Nebuchadnezzar, like Nimrod, led a rebellion against
God, set up a false religion, and attempted to
conquer and control all the people on the earth.
2 Despite Nubuchadnezzar's best efforts, he also failed
to conquer and control all the earth's people, and
his kingdom and its false religion came to an end.
D According to Bible prophecy, how will the city of
Babylon that will rule the world at the end of the
nuclear age, be patterned after the previous two
kingdoms of Babylon?
1 The last Babylon will have as its central objective
the control of all the earth's people.
2 It will lead a rebellion against God.
3 It will set up a false religion complete with a
life-like image for people to worship.
E Since the last Babylon will be the third Babylon to come
to world prominence, why is it called "the mother of
harlots?"
1 The prophetic facts show that whereas the first two
Babylons eventually failed in their bid to rule over
all the people on the earth, the last Babylon will
successfully accomplish this feat for three-and-one-
half years.
2 Note further that the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar's day
had to rely on informers to enforce the commandment
to bow down and worship the golden image, while the
last Babylon will have a world-wide, satellite-linked,
computer-based banking system to enforce the worship
of its lifelike image.
3 Clearly, the first two Babylons were mere children
compared to the last, "Babylon the Great," when it
comes to creating a false religion and enforcing a
worldwide rebellion against God.
4 Interestingly, before U.S.-led coalition forces
engaged Iraq's army in the 1991 fight for Kuwait,
Saddam Hussein used the expression "The Mother of all
Battles" to warn the allies that if war broke out the
ensuing conflict would dwarf all previous battles.
II The mysterious imagery explained in terms of the beast's
rise to power and its relationships between the woman, the
seven heads, and the ten horns.
7 And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I shall
tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that
carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns
(Rev. 17:7, NASB).
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall
ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition:
and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names
were not written in the book of life from the foundation of
the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not,
and yet is (Rev. 17:8).
A How does the statement "and [the beast] shall ascend out
of the bottomless pit" provide the key to understanding
this verse?
1 "Bottomless pit" (abyss in the Greek), refers to the
period of unprecedented chaos that will follow
AWWI--(first defined in the Fifth Trumpet prophecy).
2 The statement establishes the prophetic fact that
the coalitions of powers represented by seven heads
and ten horns "was"--in other words, they will exist
before AWWI takes place.
B John was also told that the beast will cease to exist
("and is not") immediately following the destruction of
one-third of the earth by that atomic war, to the extent
that international institutions will cease to function.
C Then, "out of the bottomless pit," or post-AWWI ashes, a
new set of binding agreements between nations will be
formed, or revived, which will be similar to the
international alliances that existed before the atomic
war occurred.
D The text's closing proclamation states that the nations'
powerful world government will end up failing completely
and "go to destruction" (IGENT).
E The passage also teaches that while the world's unbe-
lievers will wonder after the "beast" and blindly
follow it "to destruction," the world's Christian
community, whose names are written in the Lamb's book of
life, will not render homage to it.
F In summary, the imagery reveals that these coalitions of
nations will establish a cohesive power-sharing arrange-
ment with each other and the "woman" after the war.
9 Here is the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains, where the woman sits on them, and are seven kings:
(Rev. 17:9) IGENT.
A The seven heads are identified here as "seven mountains,"
which "are seven kings," or countries.
B The symbolic statement that "The seven heads are seven
mountains, where the woman sits on them," shows that
these seven countries will underwrite Babylon's initial
construction costs and the development of a computerized
international financial system.
10 The five fell, the one is, the other not yet come, and
whenever he comes it behoves him to remain a little while
(Rev. 17:10, IGENT).
A Since the central theme of this prophecy is the impact
AWWI will have on the international balance of power, it
follows that "the five fell" refers to the prostrate
condition of five of these seven heads/nations, immediately
after AWWI.
B The imagery states that a sixth will be relatively
unscathed by the war and in a position of strength.
C The seventh head/country will rise to a position of
prominence when a charismatic leader gains control of
that country, at some point following the atomic war.
D The language states that this leader will only last a
short time and implies that the leader will not survive
his deadly wound.
E Why is it reasonable to expect a plan to establish a
world financial center and the actual construction of
"Mystery Babylon" to take place before AWWI erupts?
1 First note that the seven influential heads/nations
will need stable and prospering economies to shoulder
the financial cost of building this city.
2 "Five fell" indicates that the five heads/nations
devastated by AWWI would not be in a financial
position to fund the building of Babylon following
the war.
11 And the beast which was and is not, even he is an
eighth, and is of the seven, and to destruction goes
(Rev. 17:11, IGENT).
A The fact that the seven-headed, ten-horned beast will
cease to function, or exist, following the devastation
wrought by AWWI, is stated again here for emphasis.
B The added informative statement that "even he is an
eighth, and is of the seven" shows that the individual
who will gain control of the world government, will
eventually rise out of the group of seven, to an eighth
position of higher authority.
C At this point, the eighth head will be the dictator of
the world.
12 And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have
not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as
kings with the beast for one hour (Rev. 17:12, NASB).
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and
strength unto the beast (Rev. 17:13).
A John is told here that the powers represented by the ten
horns do not exist in his day, but that they will rise up
on the earth in the future and be given ruling authority
with the final configuration of the "Fourth Beast."
B How long will the special ruling authority granted for
"one hour" with the beast, be in actual time?
- Since Rev. 13:5 stated that "authority was given to
it [the beast] to act forty-two months," the "one
hour" the ten horns "receive authority as kings with
the beast" must also equal forty-two months.
C The statement "These have one mind, and shall give their
power and strength unto the beast" indicates that the
ten countries will, in some respects, be wholly indepen-
dent of each other; but, on the issue of promoting the
world government and the new computerized international
monetary system, they will be completely united.
D They will willingly give their power and strength to the
establishment of the new "world government beast" and
the dictator who will initially run it.
III What evidence shows that the historical assignment of the
ancient nations of Chaldea, Egypt, the Babylon of Daniel's
day, Persia, and Greece, to represent the five heads that
fell, is incorrect?
A Daniel explicitly stated in the vision of the four
beasts that "these four beasts are four kingdoms that
shall rise up on the earth" (Dan. 7:17, TSVGE).
B Since Daniel had the vision of the four beasts during
the reign of Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, the
Babylon of Daniel's day was not one of the four beasts.