Revelation 17: 1 – 18
The Marriage From H E Double L
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” 3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. 9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. 11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. 12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” 15 Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw onfn the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
This is a remarkable chapter for in it John foresees the inevitable consequences of history. As with all the great prophets he ‘sees’ beyond his own day to the final days when God will bring all things to conclusion.
17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Here we have a new vision. The invitation given to the apostle to take a view of what was here to be represented: ‘Come hither, and I will show thee the judgment of the great whore’. This is a name of great infamy. A whore [in this passage] is one that is married, and has been false to her husband’s bed, has forsaken the guide of her youth, and broken the covenant of God. To be nice some people will use the word ‘prostitute’ or ‘harlot’. However, as you know a ‘prostitute is one who sells her body. The nasty word ‘whore’ is one who freely gives it away. But to keep our conversation wholesome we will use the word ‘harlot’.
John indicates that this is the great harlot. One could say that this is the "mother" of all harlots. This naturally leads to a question. What entity would be considered the mother of all harlots in a biblical sense?
The ‘harlot" here is not a literal woman. In the book of Hosea, his wife (who was a harlot) was speaking of Israel. Here, this "harlot" is speaking of the idolatrous church.- Mystery, Babylon the Harlot
We see here the purpose of the angel’s interpretive expansion. This is one of eight occurrences of the verb "to show" in the Revelation that also involves an interpreting angel (1:1; 4:1; 17:1; 21:9, 10; 22:1, 6, 8). The judgment is the issue of chapter 17. The great harlot is the subject of this judgment. She may have been judged in the past, but this is her ultimate and final judgment. This exact phrase also occurs in Revelation 19:2. There the great harlot is the object of God’s wrath for the death of His bondservants.
The angel's language, focusing on the harlot's punishment, confirms the notion that the vision extends beyond chapter 17 through 19:10. Her punishment is not specified until 17:16, and it then goes on to occupy chapter 18 and the beginning of chapter 19.
For your notes we are going to see with the vision of the woman ten details describing this woman:
1. The great harlot
2. Who sits on many waters
3. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery.
4. The inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.
5. A woman sitting on a scarlet beast
6. Dressed in purple and scarlet
7. Glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls
8. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
9. On her forehead: Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abomination of the Earth.
10. Drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus
The statement "sitteth upon many waters", speaks of large groups of people. This is not the true church. This is the apostate church. God calls it the harlot church; the church that is not faithful to God, the church that is worldly. This church, while claiming to be Christian, finds many reasons to conform to the beast and the evil world system.
This, without question, is the part of the church that has compromised with the world and is no longer a chaste virgin in the sight of God. I truly believe that a large portion of the church falls into this category today. Worldliness has crept into our churches. The sad thing is that if she would repent, God would take her back, but she will not repent.
The Bride of Christ is called a city, and that is the portion of the church which has not compromised. The other (opposite) side of that is the harlot. It is also called a city but is evil because of compromise. This is not only the apostate church in Rome, but the apostate in many other churches, as well. Again, the waters let us know that this apostate church is throughout the masses of people.
We see here a prophetic description of Babylon, with its river and network of canals; it was the city which ‘dwells on many waters’ (Jeremiah .51.13). Thus the harlot represents idolatrous religion and its accompaniments as personified in the city of Babylon. Great Babylon is seen as the source of idolatry and unrestrained sexual proclivities, from Babel onwards, something which she is now exercising through Rome. Compare how the woman who represented wickedness was seen as carried into the land of Shinar, the land where Babylon was, for that was the ‘home’ of wickedness (Zechariah 5.5-11). But John stresses that the many waters also have a special significance in that they represent ‘peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues’ (17.15). Thus the woman has an insidious influence over many nations.
In ancient days Satan seemed to make Babylon the capital of this evil operation. From this headquarters was started false religion, humanity's attempt for self government in defiance of God's will and city dwellings for commercial and social purposes contrary to God's command to "be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth." (Gen. 1 v.28)
These great evils, which have damned the souls of millions by substituting counterfeit solutions to natural human problems that would ordinarily lead a person to God, will all be destroyed at the end of the Tribulation period. Chapter 17 describes the coming judgment of God on the religious system that has enslaved the human race in superstitious darkness for centuries.
If, then, the woman, is not the Antichrist, what other possible explanation can we have for such unanimous world dominance? The only answer is the one system before which all kings, dictators, and nations have been forced to bow down throughout history, that is, the Babylonian religion of idolatry. One cannot go anywhere in the world without being confronted with some semblance of the idolatry.
No system in the world's history has enslaved more people than this awful religion. It should not take us by surprise that this harlot woman, the religious system, is referred to as a city. When used symbolically, a woman is always intended throughout the Scripture to signify a spiritual or religious movement. If a good woman, it is "Jehovah's wife" or "the bride of Christ". If an evil woman, such as "a harlot," it represents the evil religious system of idolatry.
Since the woman who rides the beast gets her authority from the beast, the Holy Spirit uses this description to show how religious Babylon and governmental Babylon are so intertwined they are presented together.
17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
‘With whom the kings of the earth committed fornication.’ They submitted to the requirements of the woman, and of the beast who demanded they follow the ways of the great harlot. The dwellers on earth did so also for they ‘were made drunk with the wine of her fornication’. The controlling influence of Babylon and Rome and similar great cities reached out to the world seeking to turn men to themselves and to their own divinity rather than to God.
We see that John is fulfilling his commission given in Revelation 10:11 to prophesy against "kings." "The kings of the earth" are accused of fornication with the great harlot. Under the metaphor of sexual immorality, John declares that the kings of the earth and the great harlot have committed acts, which betray the harlot’s commitment. Four times in the Revelation (17:2, 18:3, 18:9, 19:2) the immoral relations of the harlot are referenced. What is the harlot actually accused of? Revelation 19:2 states, "the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality." To corrupt (phtheiro) in the Greek in this case means, "to cause the moral ruin of" someone. It is clear that John is using metaphorical language. The great harlot is causing the moral ruin of the kings of the earth by leading the call for them to commit and follow the beast.
Those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality is the second group greatly influenced by the great harlot. We have seen repeatedly throughout the Revelation that "those who dwell on the earth" is a technical phrase that refers to the people on the earth who are hostile to God and His people. The Greek is not precisely identical to the other occurrences, but the meaning is the same. The harlot and the kings’ fornication intoxicate the living earth-dwellers. The action of the harlot and the kings is so powerful that the people are swept away by it. It is important to notice that the kings willingly join themselves to the harlot, but the people are made drunk by her actions, which suggests compulsion on the part of the harlot. We see here, that this universal apostasy (unfaithfulness to God) does not affect just one class of people. This unfaithfulness is from the very rich and powerful (kings) to the very poor.
The same way a drunken person naturally has no earthly idea what he is doing, this apostate group is so carried away with the world that they, too, do not realize the terribleness of what they are doing. God will judge this idolatrous church. Judgment begins at the house of God.
17.3 ‘And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.’
John is carried ‘in the Spirit’. He is carried back and forward in time to see what he sees. He observes a prominent harlot sitting on a scarlet colored Beast, which is the ultimate Blasphemy. The color of the beast suggests that this beast is closely related to the red monster of 12.3, for he alone of beasts and monsters is described as red (possibly as the color of blood because of his murderous intentions) Thus the woman is born and supported by Satan’s beast himself who is at the back of what she propagates. This beast is full of the names of blasphemy and therefore transcends the one who had names of blasphemy only on his heads (13.1). There it referred to the claims of Roman emperors to divinity, but here it refers to all the blasphemies of the ages. This beast is far more sinister than the beast of Rome, which was merely a temporary copy of the scarlet beast.
The wilderness into which the apostle was carried is the desolate state of the true Church of Christ. The harlot is deceiving the people of God, and especially the woman of 12.14, by false professions of piety. Seemingly like the woman in chapter 12 she is found in the wilderness. But that it is all pretence comes out in the next verse. The very reason that the wilderness was seen as a place where men could meet God was because it was away from the great cities with their pernicious influence. But her very dress proclaims that influence.
So, we need to ask ourselves, what is Blaspheme? The first answer many say is using our Holy God’s Name in vain or cursing. Not so!
Here is what the Bible lists as the sin of Blaspheme.
. The Unpardonable Sin
Matt. 12, 28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
. A man claiming to be God
John 10 31 , Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
. Only God can forgive sins
Matthew 9, 1 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” 3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house.
. Appropriating God’s Glory for oneself
Isaiah 42 “I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images.
The harlot’s principal seat and residence—upon the beast that had seven heads and ten horns is to Rome, the city on seven hills, infamous for idolatry, tyranny, and blasphemy.
So, let’s break this down. First of all please notice the statement – ‘The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.’ So, we see that the seven heads stand for seven mountains in which the woman sits. Our key questions must now relate to the terms ‘mountains’, ‘woman’ and ‘sits
Remember our definitions that we have recorded? What does the symbol of ‘woman’ represent? The answer is a corrupt church. So, this corrupt church sits on 7 mountains. What does the word ‘sit’ mean? Give me your answer to this question, ‘Where is the ‘sitting’ President’s Headquarters? You should be thinking that it means ’our current President’s Headquarters is in Washington DC.’
So. Let us put this all together. The 7 heads are leaders or kings [the 7 heads are also called seven kings ]. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.] whose headquarters are located on 7 mountains or hills. Why did I add the term hills. The Jewish people have overextended certain terms. For example the Sea of Galilee is smaller than most lakes in the US. The river Jordan is smaller than the creek next to where I live. A city resting on seven hills represented by the beast’s seven heads would in all probability be a capital, as the word “capital” comes from the Latin word “capitalis” meaning “head”. Further, it would be the capital of the kingdom represented by the beast.
Remember our definitions for a beast. It equals a kingdom. In the upcoming verses we will deal more with the seven heads and 10 horns.
‘17.4 ‘And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication.’
What an absurd picture. While pretending piety in the wilderness her outward appearance tells a different story. She is decked out like a harlot, enjoying all that comes from wealth and influence because of what she offers in her golden cup. She is the epitome of a pretence piety, of false religion.
The elegant clothing and jewelry of the woman shows her wealth and attractiveness, but her activities are filthy and abominable to God. Please notice the term ‘Abominations’. This word is constantly used in the Old Testament to represent idolatry and idolatrous worship with all that accompanied it, including spiritualism, magic, witchcraft and divination It is often described in terms of sexual and spiritual immorality and uncleanness because of its accompaniments. For her golden cup look at what Jeremiah has to say in his book of chapter 51.7, ‘Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand that made all the earth drunk. The nations have drunk of her cup, therefore the nations are mad’. This is what Babylon symbolizes.
Purple has a rich history in the Scriptures as a symbol of status. It was often worn by royalty. Scarlet suggests wealth. This description suggests that the great harlot has attained wealth and status, which is reflected, in her unique position with the scarlet beast.
Adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls also reflects the wealth of the great harlot.
The gold cup symbolizes her wealth. The woman engages in disgusting acts. What exactly the woman does is not explicitly stated, but is represented by the metaphorical language employed in this verse. In context, since commitment and personal worship is the desire of both the dragon and the sea-beast, the woman must encourage the kings of the earth to follow the scarlet beast and worship it. Her involvement in leading the world to worship and support the scarlet beast is what makes her a harlot.
17.5 ‘And on her forehead a name written, a mystery, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.’
Again we have confirmation that this is Babylon, but it is more than Babylon, it is Babylon as a symbol, as the mother of all idolatry and sexual perversion and of all spiritualism and witchcraft. It is a ‘mystery’, something once hidden now revealed. That Babylon was now (in John’s time) represented by Rome was part of that ‘mystery’, but only as symbolic of what Rome and Babylon stood for, greatness, supremacy, commercialism, pernicious influence and opposition to the living God. Wherever great cities control men’s minds, there is Babylon the Great. It is a symbol of man’s enmity against God.
Please take note that ‘Her name was written on her forehead. It was the custom of impudent harlots to hang out signs, with their names, that all might know what they were.
It is amazing to me how our Great and Wonderful Holy Spirit can say so much in so little words. Now in this observe;
(1.) She is named from her place of residence—Babylon the great. But, that we might not take it for the old Babylon literally so called, we are told there is a mystery in the name; it is some other great city resembling the old Babylon.
(2.) She is named from her infamous way and practice; not only a harlot, but a mother of harlots, breeding up harlots, and nursing and training them up to idolatry, and all sorts of lewdness and wickedness—the parent and nurse of all false religion and filthy conversation.
(3)Her diet: she satiated herself with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus. She drank their blood with such greediness that she intoxicated herself with it; it was so pleasant to her that she could not tell when she had had enough of it: she was satiated, but never satisfied.
17.6 ‘And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of God’s people (the saints) and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her I wondered with a great wonder.’
Her mystery name is Babylon the Great. Ancient Babylon is a type or prefigure of this future Babylon The harlot will do what literal Babylon did in the past:
(1) Oppress God's people,
(2) Propagate a false religious system. Much of the world's idolatry can be traced back to historical Babylon
John sees that the woman is drunk, not with wine and adulteries, but with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to The Precious Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 6). She is the evil genius behind those on earth who "shed the blood of your saints and prophets" and have been given blood to drink (16:6). The fierce rhetoric of John's vision is directed not against the woman's wealth, laziness, or luxurious living, nor against her drunkenness or prostitution. These characteristics are noted, but the vision's real target is the woman's deception of the earth (v. 2), and above all her violence against the people of God (v. 6). In this sense her crimes match those of the dragon (12:9, 17) and the beast (13:7-9).
Only rarely in his visions does John express emotion at what he sees. He collapsed at the feet of the figure who appeared to him in chapter 1:17 and was told, "Do not be afraid." He began to weep bitterly in chapter 5:4-5 when "no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into it" and was told, "Do not weep." Here he is greatly astonished at what he has just seen (v. 6), and the angel asks him, "Why are you astonished?" In each instance John's emotion is calmed and corrected by a heavenly being.
What exactly is the emotion here? John had been invited to see the downfall of Babylon; the angel had offered to show him her sentence executed. He expected to see a city in ruins. But instead of this there had risen before him on the floor of the desert the picture of a woman gilded, jeweled, splendidly attired, and mounted on a scarlet monster, drunk with blood. It was a complete surprise. Who was this woman?"
John's language suggests that he sees Babylon first of all not as a seductive woman, but as a city, "the great city" of 16:19. A man can be "astonished" or "amazed" at the splendor of a world metropolis, but in the case of a sexually alluring woman, "astonishment" is not the right word! The Greek text says, literally, "And seeing her I marveled a great marvel." The King James Version capture the meaning quite well: "and when I saw her I wondered with great admiration." A man may lust after a harlot, but rarely "admires" her. John is on the brink of yielding to temptation, but the temptation is not sexual. John's astonishment is more dangerous than that, for it is closer to worship. It recalls the earlier account in which "the whole world was astonished and followed the beast" in chapter 13. John is taken in by the beast as much as by the woman. It is not "erotic power" that momentarily beguiles him, but the power and wealth and magnificence that ruled the world in which he lived.
17.7-8 ‘And the angel said to me, “Why did you wonder? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast who carries her, who has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast which you saw was and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss and to go into perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will wonder, the one whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast how he was, and is not and shall come.’
The angel promises to reveal the mystery of both the woman and the Beast who carries her. He will first reveal the mystery of the Beast. The mystery of the woman will be revealed in the next chapter. ‘The beast was, and is not and will come.’
The obvious question is whether the scarlet beast is an individual or group. Since the scarlet beast dies and is resurrected, it is highly unlikely that a person is intended. No one other than God has the power to raise the dead. There is no evidence that God is going to give Satan this power. There is no evidence in Daniel 2 or 7 that a person will rise from the dead and lead mankind in revolt against God. These facts taken together make a compelling case that the scarlet beast is a kingdom and not an individual. Daniel predicated that Rome would be the final kingdom, that One like a Son of Man will destroy. John’s vision harmonizes with such a conclusion.
The beast that carries the woman is Rome. We know that a beast in the Bible mean a kingdom and its resultant political power. The beast ‘was’, ‘is not’, and ‘will be’ is because it controlled the world once in the past and then it stopped controlling. But for once more, it will again control the nations and the kings of the earth.
If you were with us during our study of the 7 letters to the seven churches, I am quite sure you would have come up with the total interpretation of the book of Revelation because the seven letter point out the entire history of the Christian church.
The beast that ‘was’ is the little horn that Daniel spoke of. The Roman Catholic bishop became ‘Pope’ and began to rule both in a secular and religious manner. This time frame was from 538 AD to 1798 AD
The beast that ‘is not’ was since 1798 when Napoleon put an end to the secular Papacies which lasted until 1929 when Mussolini helped restore the power and properties of the Papacy.
The beast that ‘will be’ means that for one last chance the papacy will regain control of the nations and religions through their new movement. It came back to life in 1929.
17.9-10 ‘Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. And they are seven kings, five are fallen, the one is and the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must continue a little while, and the beast that was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is of the seven and goes into destruction.’ 11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. 12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” 15 Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
Now in John’s vision he sees that 5 of these kings are from the same kingdom or Beast are dead, one is currently ruling, and one more is to come which leads to the ‘8th’ ruler or king which is the ‘beast’
Remember our definitions for a beast. It equals a kingdom.
Now let us continue as we read, . ‘The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.’ Let us replace the word beast with kingdom and look at the verse again. ‘The kingdom that was [existed before] , and is not [ not a current kingdom’ , is himself [ruler] also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.[ The word “perdition” means “eternal damnation” or “utter destruction.” It can also be used as a noun, as a synonym for hell. When a person is called “son of perdition,” the connotation is that of a person in an unredeemable state, someone who is already damned while they are still alive.]
So in a nutshell this 8th king is the Antichrist and his future is not going to turn out very well.
Now what about the 10 horns and crowns? Again it says in Revelation 17, ‘The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast “These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.”
Do you know what the word ‘diadem’ means? It is a crown having other crowns on top of it. So, we have to stop and think what king in today’s world wears such a crown?
There are going to be 10 leaders that will fully back this ruler – The Antichrist. The word ‘hour’ means a short time. We see in chapter 18 verse 10 that all their support and unity will only last for a short time before total destruction will happen – ‘Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.’
Who are these 10 leaders that give their allegiance to the Antichrist? It is important to note that these 10 are not some worldly divisional leadership or nations but they all are part of the Beast’s kingdom.
"And the ten horns which thou saw are ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. See, they never were crowned kings, but they received power as kings one hour in the reign of the beast.- "Received power as king one hour with the beast." Now, all right. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He Is Lord of lord, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, the chosen, and faithful."
Please note that the crowns and horns are on the beast or Antichrist. They are not independent nations.
So, we have 10 important people who do not have power or authority but support the Antichrist. As a reward to them they are promoted to a leadership position with the Beast but this only lasts a short time.
Without covering up the obvious, the Antichrist is and will be the ‘Pope’ whose headquarters is in Rome. I believe that the 10 horns are ‘Patriarchs’! If you do some research you will come up with this important information about them.
The heads of some autonomous (in Latin, sui iuris) particular Churches consisting of several local Churches (dioceses) have the title of Patriarch. Eastern patriarchs are elected by the synod of bishops of their particular Church. The Patriarchs who head autonomous particular Churches are:
1. The Maronite Patriarch of Antioch (Maronite Church)[35]
2. The Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria (Coptic Catholic Church)[36]
3. The Syrian Catholic Patriarch of Antioch (Syrian Catholic Church)[37]
4. The Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch (Melkite Greek Catholic Church)[38]
5. The Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylonia (Chaldean Catholic Church)[39]
6. The Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia (Armenian Catholic Church)[40]
These have authority not only over the bishops of their particular Church, including metropolitans, but also directly over all the faithful.[41] Eastern Catholic patriarchs have precedence over all other bishops, with the exceptions laid down by the Pope.[42] The honorary title prefixed to their names is "His Beatitude".
There are also additional patriarchs in the Latin Church. They include the [7] Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, [8] the Patriarch of Venice, [9] the Patriarch of Lisbon, and the [10] Patriarch of the East Indies. All of these offices are honorary, and the patriarchs are not the heads of autonomous particular Churches [ie; have no power]
