What seven kingdoms?
The verse states kings, not kingdoms. Kings of a kingdom, singular for kingdom but plural for kings. The name of that kingdom that is referred to, is the empire of Rome. The kings possibly referenced here are as follows: Five are fallen = are Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.......One is = Vespasian......One is yet to come = Domitian
You could reference the book of Daniel as it talks about the beast/4th kingdom which is obviously Rome.
The Angel in verse 7 tells John he is going to Explain the MYSTERY of the Woman and the Beast she rides (Seven Headed Beast). Then he proceeds to do that so there is no Mystery Babylon. But what does it really mean? Well he told us if we LISTEN.
Rev.. 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The
seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10
And there are seven kings (Proper translation is they are ALSO Seven Kings): five are fallen (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece) and ONE IS (ROME) , and the other is NOT YET COME;(ANTI-CHRIST/BEAST) and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
So why does the Angel via God change/REDUCE the Seven Kingdoms to Seven Mountains (OROS one who rises above the plains) then say they are ALSO Seven Kings?
All the rest of these Kingdoms were just that, Kingdoms passed from the King that AROSE to the King that would eventually FALL or lose power/dominion. This LAST KING is different, he will be the KING that ARISES and the KING that FALLS. God wants us to know that this Last King is the BEAST HIMSELF, a Man not a Kingdom so God reduces (10/20, 5/10, 1/2) the Seven Heads/Kingdoms unto Seven Kings via Rulers that ARISE. It is not just done willy nilly.
We know who the Five are by the very definition of what a Beast is in Daniel, one that Conquers, Enslaves or Rules Israel in some capacity. Thus it is clear who the Five who have fallen are, the Actual King makes no difference, we know every Beast has a King when it FALLS, and Rome had a King when John wrote Revelation, this was all done to SHOW that the Last King was a SINGULAR MAN/A Beast unto himself. God wanted us to know 100 percent that there would be only ONE KING during this Last Head of the Seven Headed Beast. This is what s meant by this verse in Daniel 7.
Daniel 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the
great words which the horn spake (Anti-Christ/Beast): I beheld even
till the beast was slain, and his
body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
12 As concerning the
rest of the beasts (Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome), they had their
dominion taken away(KING FELL): yet their
lives were prolonged for a season and time.
So Daniel tells us the SAME STORY in a different manner, the Last Beast/Little Horn, will be cast into the BURNING FIRE (Click....hes a Man) but the rest of the Beasts lives will be prolonged for a season and a time, OF COURSE, they did not live in the End Time like the Last Beast/Anti-Christ, so Babylon was conquered by Alexander the Great but lived on for a Season, Alexander made his home there and died there. Persia is now Iran and both Greece and Rome are still Kingdoms, though toothless tigers, until this very day. But the Last Beast is a MAN who will be cast into hell.