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Rev. 17:9, says , …The seven heads are seven mountains…
The seven heads can be described as seven mountains because a mountain is changeless, unmovable, and steadfast like God. A religious system can be compared to a mountain because people look
up to their religious leaders much like ancient travelers looked
up to the mountains for navigation. People want their religion to be changeless, unmovable and steadfast (that is, infallible, true and towering above all others) like a mountain.
Rev.17:10, says, 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.
They are also seven kings. Each religious system is a kingdom having subjects (church members). Each religious system has its own order and authority. When a church member rebels against the system, he may be cast out of the system, excommunicated or killed depending upon the religious system that he belongs to. The seven heads are described as seven mountains and seven kings because these definitions narrow the solution to one right answer. Each blasphemous head/mountain/king is a religious system having its own hierarchy and laws.” The angel continued, “Five religious systems have fallen (have been exposed as false) and one religious system exists which has not yet become false. Later on, it will also be exposed as false and another religious system will appear, but it will only exist for a short time.”
When Jesus came to Earth, five religious systems fell. In other words, Jesus declared five religious systems were false. These five systems are: Atheism, Heathenism, Judaism, Eastern Mysticism, and Islam. Atheism says there is no God. Jesus says this is not true. Heathenism says there are many Gods, but Jesus says this is not true. Judaism and Islam teach that salvation comes through obedience to specific rules, but Jesus says that salvation comes through faith in Him. Eastern Mysticism teaches that the soul is immortal, it lives forever. After enough generations, man can become a divine being, but Jesus says none of this is true. Rather, a divine being became a man to save mankind from the penalty for sin.
The sixth head (Christianity) was just beginning in John’s day. Eventually, this head was called the Roman Catholic Church. John was a charter member of this religious system, but it followed in Israel’s footsteps. It became a false religion and blas- phemous over time. The power of the Roman Catholic Church was severely wounded in 1798, but the deadly wound will be healed during the fourth trumpet. The seventh head appeared on Earth around 1500 A.D. and it is called Protestantism. When we consider that six of the seven religious systems have endured for 2,000 years or more, the life span of Protestantism is short.
Rev. 17:11-13 says, And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eight, and is of the seven [heads] and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; [at the time John was show this vision] but receive power as kings one hour [short period of time] with the beast…
Lucifer is the lamblike beast described in Revelation 13:11. He once was visible and now, he is not visible,
but at the fifth trumpet he will become visible. At first, the devil will masquerade as Almighty God. He will be far superior to the seven religious systems of the world and his supernatural powers will eclipse the prowess of all mankind and naturally, he will become “an eighth king.”
The devil is described as an eighth king who belongs to the seven heads for an important reason. In Dan 7, a little horn appeared and it grew in power and as it did, it uprooted three of the original ten horns. This made the little horn an eighth king. The eighth horn dominated the seven horns for 1,260 years. Similarly, the devil will start small. He will physically appear and dominate the seven heads. During the sixth trumpet, the devil will establish an eighth religious system (the harlot, his great theocracy) and he will rule over the religious systems of the world. Of course, the devil will be destroyed at the end, but not by human power.
The ten horns on the composite beast represent ten kings (the ten toes in Daniel 2) which Lucifer will appoint as agents of his government. Presuming sovereign authority, the devil will dissolve the governments of the world and direct these ten kings to oversee his one world church state. These ten kings will have one purpose. They will do everything the devil wishes.
When Jesus appears in clouds of glory, these ten kings will unite with the devil in a violent attack on the Lamb, but the Lamb will destroy them because the Creator is Lord of lords and King of kings. (Battle of Armageddon, Rev.16:16-21)
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