Revelation, chapter 19, comments: the return of the king

1 ¶  And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2  For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3  And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4  And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

These are clearly the resurrected and translated/raptured saints in Heaven glorifying God.

    5 ¶  And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

We now know that waters, in a specific context, can stand for the mass of people.

Revelation 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

In verse 6, in context with great multitude it is the voices of many people.

The marriage of the Lamb has come. For this marriage to occur the bride must be in heaven.

The Song of Solomon is a classic metaphor of the relationship between Christ and the church, using Solomon and his bride. If you think that book is merely a love poem between a husband and a wife notice these two verses.

Song of Solomon 6:4  Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners….10  Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

Notice how Jesus spoke of Himself.

Matthew 9:15  And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

Notice how Paul talks about the church.

2Corinthians 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

With the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, likened to a bride using the simile with as it would be easy to think that it is where Christians will live.

Revelation 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy links back to the first two verses of chapter one.

Revelation 1:1 ¶  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

    11 ¶  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

This is the Lord Jesus Christ returning to earth, not as the suffering Saviour but as the Creator of the universe preparing to take vengeance on a wicked world ruled by Satan. This links Him with the first 18 verses of John’s gospel and the description of Him in chapter one of Revelation.

14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

The armies which were in heaven are those who belong to Him who have either been translated or martyred or died otherwise. They return triumphantly with Christ. It is clear here, as elsewhere, that there are animal creatures in the spiritual world. We can see this by the living creatures in Ezekiel 1 and 10 and in those around the throne in chapter 4. We see this by other statements.

2King 6:17  And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

There is important symbolism here as you can see by verse 8 in comparison, linking this army with Christ’s bride.

 15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

This is clearly Christ.

Revelation 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

Isaiah 11:4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

Psalm 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Revelation 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Revelation 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

So, clearly, this is not a reference to the United States of America, or any nation, for that matter.

Isaiah 63:1 ¶  Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2  Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? 3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 4  For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. 5  And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. 6  And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

His title is referenced previously.

Revelation 17:14 ¶  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

As understood by Paul;

1Timothy 6:15  Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Isaiah 34:1 ¶  Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. 2  For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. 3  Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. 4  And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. 5  For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. 6  The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. 7  And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. 8  For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

Verse 17 and 18 have a similarity to the verses in Ezekiel referencing the destruction of Gog and Magog at the end of the Millennial reign of Christ. First, for the reference in Revelation to events at the end of the Millennial reign of Christ.

Revelation 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

You can start reading in Ezekiel 38 about this and here are some important cross-references.

Ezekiel 39:17  And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 18  Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19  And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20  Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.

But, these passages in Revelation 19 that we are looking at happen before the Millennial reign of Christ begins. This is Armageddon referenced in chapter 16. The beast and his false prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire bodily and alive. The rest of the Beast’s army is killed.

2Thessalonians 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

So, the Great Tribulation is a period of 3 ½ years. In it and before it, there are seven seals and seven trumpets. After the seventh trumpet there are seven vials of unimaginable judgment. During this period the Jews flee to the wilderness, the Beast reigns, millions are martyred, and then, upon the sounding of the seventh trumpet the Jewish and Gentile church is raptured to prevent it from having to endure the final wrath to come with the dead in Christ preceding them in a flash of time like the twinkling of an eye or lightning flashing across the sky. Then, there is a marriage supper in heaven and Christ returns to rule the earth with the believers after one final battle on earth in which Christ is victorious.

Revelation 18:1-24 comments: the great city falls

1 ¶  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

Calling this city Babylon the great is very interesting and seems to indicate that this is a euphemistic name for a city that we may know by another name as the ancient city of Babylon, at this time, is not permanently inhabited.

Birds are used as symbolism for Satan in the Gospels. See Mark 4:4 &15. The symbolism in context here is unclean and hateful bird with devils and every foul spirit so we can see the intent.  

This city is so influential at the time of the end and so powerful that all nations have participated in her wickedness. Certainly, one wonders at any city today that has that much control and power. Rome of the first century ruled the Mediterranean world but most certainly did not rule China or the civilizations in what we call the Americas today. What will have to happen for Rome to rule the world if Babylon the great is Rome? The Vatican surely has no political influence over Red China or Islamic nations. Circumstances have certainly changed by the time presented here where the kings of the earth not only commit spiritual fornication with a city but the merchants of the earth are made wealthy by her, a city which appears to be the capital of a world empire.

It is clear that this Babylon is a merchant city and a wellspring of trade in luxury items.

4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. 7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

Persecution, early as per the account in Acts, and divine revelation late according to Eusebius, drove the Christians from Jerusalem before the destruction of the temple during the general, and future Roman emperor, Titus’s siege and conquest during the rebellion of the Jews in 70AD. This is a warning to God’s people to get out of Babylon, another reason for the first resurrection that raptures or translates living saints and brings the dead who believed to Heaven.

Notice for verse 7, this cross reference for the first, physical and literal Babylon.

Isaiah 47:1 ¶  Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. 2  Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. 3  Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. 4  As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. 5  Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. 6  I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

    7 ¶  And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. 8  Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: 9  But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. 10  For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. 11  Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. 12  Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. 13  Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. 14  Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. 15  Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.

    9 ¶  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, 10  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. 11  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 12  The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 13  And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

This Babylon does business in slaves and souls. This is important as modern ‘First World’ countries do not engage in slavery as a business. Slavery exists in the form of legal slavery where criminals are used to work for the state as in ‘chain gangs’ in the Southern United States although I daresay you would find few inmates actually in chains while they work on the road crews anymore. Slavery, with people as a commodity, must return, at least in the beast’s kingdom. Other things listed could be said to be types until you get to slaves and souls of men and then you have a problem with types. Souls of men easily turns this reference into a city that is not only an administrative and business capital but a center of religion similar to the Vatican, London, Riyadh, or even Nashville, Tennessee.

14  And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. 15  The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! 17  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, 18  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! 19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. 20  Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. 21  And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. 22  And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

This magnificent city, a wellspring of power, religion, and culture is destroyed quickly, this destruction causing many to be dismayed and perplexed.

Sorcery comes from a word by which we derive our modern word pharmacy and is relevant in the widespread use of drugs in that era, such as the hallucinogenic musings of the Oracle at Delphi, and for today in the use of drugs to control behavior. I have already talked about the use of drugs in ancient types of religion. Also, today so many prescription drugs are consumed that waste water supplies show evidence of it throughout the world…

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/04/02/antidepressants-aquatic-wildlife_n_5075386.html

…as well as illegal drugs around the world as the following Popular Science  website attests…

http://www.popsci.com/article/science/real-time-wastewater-analysis-shows-what-drugs-are-being-used-where

Of course, we are also medicated and lulled into a submissive state by our entertainment mediums, as in television and movies with the drama of theater and the drama of sports as well. The culture intrudes upon us with our smartphones, television, and the internet keeping us sedated as the control of the world system invades even our churches. It is all a type of sorcery, in a sense.

Certainly, this city is not the cause of all death throughout history but the statement in verse 24 has to do with the events in the Great Tribulation and the reason for so many martyrs in heaven.

Revelation 17:14-18 comments: ten kings turn on Babylon

14 ¶  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

2Thessalonians 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming

These ten kings and the beast make war with Christ and His people who are called, chosen, and faithful. The verses are numerous but to be singled out by Christ for service, to be chosen by virtue of your willingness to answer that calling, and to stay true to the faith that He is God walking as God in the flesh on earth, and that salvation comes only through Him, is the essence of salvation and eternal life. They are predestinated by virtue of their belief and obedience to be like Him; called by the Holy Ghost, justified by faith, and glorified at the resurrection. One example is Romans 8:28-30.

These are those who have overcome, who believed on Christ until the end, even their own deaths, which you can see if you have been reading from the beginning.

They that are with him is another evidence that His people have been removed to Heaven to come back with Christ. This conquest of the ten kings and the beast comes after Mystery Babylon is destroyed by them.

Here is a classic metaphor for waters being a type of peoples. We can now go back and perhaps see the word sea as a mass of humanity and pay particular attention to earth as a metaphor in the following verses.

Revelation 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Revelation 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Mystery Babylon rules over the earth as its administrative and religious center and the beast and his ten kings turn on it to destroy it. The next chapter deals with why God has ordained its destruction. Mystery Babylon is supported by the beast until he decides to turn on it to consolidate his power to make himself supreme. Totalitarian power does not like to share what it has gained.

Revelation 17:10-13 comments, part two: five more kings like the beast

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. 11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

The third king who was of Satan’s mindset was the Pharaoh of Moses’ time. The Pharaoh of Egypt, who was a king, was not only the supreme judge and ruler of Egypt but he was the supreme religious leader of the kingdom and the mediator between man and the gods. Indeed, he was considered a god himself. The Pharaoh who contested Moses’ demands for freedom for the Hebrews defied God as judgments poured down on his kingdom as any casual reading of the book of Exodus will reveal, as does the beast of Revelation. Pharaoh and his army is destroyed quickly by God’s supernatural hand and the song of Moses which he sang after the Red Sea crossing is mentioned in Revelation 15:3 as we have seen. He is proud and defiant to God’s will and does not bend to terrible judgment on his people and kingdom.

The fourth king who followed in the path of Satan as an example of the beast to come was Sennacherib, the Assyrian. From 2Kings 18:13 through 2Kings 19:37 we see that through the Assyrian general, Rabshakeh, he mocked God and God’s people while at the same time claiming that it was God’s very will that was being done. It is helpful to read this brief passage in 2Kings. His army was destroyed in a moment of time, overnight, 185,000 Assyrians dead. Christ will destroy His enemies quickly, as well.

2Thessalonians 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Revelation 19:19  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

The fifth type of the beast from whom the beast of Revelation comes following in Satan’s path is Nebuchadnezzar, aka Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon. Much is written in the Bible about him coming up against Jerusalem, destroying the temple of God, and of his eventually going mad and being restored to health. You can read about him from 2Kings through Daniel and see that he demanded worship through an image in Daniel. This is noteworthy and shows his place as a type of the beast of Revelation.

The sixth king, the one that is, the one who ruled when John was writing, is thought to be Domitian, persecutor of Christians according to later accounts, follower of the Imperial Cult of emperor worship. He was said to be called by sycophants, Lord and God. Under Domitian, John was exiled to Patmos, tradition says, after a failed attempt to boil him to death in oil. Domitian was the youngest son of Emperor Vespasian who fought the Jews, whose older son and future emperor Titus also was responsible for the destruction of the temple of Jesus’ day and the deaths of thousands upon thousands of Jews.

Now, we have a mystery for us. There is a seventh king who rules only a short time who is like the beast, who is of the line of proud boasting pagans that followed Satan’s way, but we don’t have his name. Who he is, is a matter of speculation. Perhaps he is yet to come or perhaps he is one of our more modern examples of types of the beast, like Hitler or Stalin, although their reigns were not comparatively brief.

But, the eighth king is the beast of Revelation. He is of the seven and shall have ten subordinate kings under him who will rule for a short time, giving all authority and power to the beast. They are all in agreement with him. Ten is traditionally considered to be the number representing the Gentiles and is an interesting discussion topic.

Revelation 17:10-13 comments: the first two of the five fallen kings; Cain and Nimrod

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. 11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

In the ancient world, during the first half of human history as described in Genesis, there were domestic gods of the household, as Laban complained that his were stolen by Jacob in Genesis 31, and there were public gods of a city available only to those lawful residents of the city and their priest was, among other things, a king. He gave the public sacrifices and devotion as the father of the family gave the private. He may have had additional titles but he was above all, the chief of worship.(20)

(20) Numa Denis Fustel De Coulanges, The Ancient City, Willard Small, transl. (1874, repr., New York: Doubleday & Co., 1955), 174.

Of the seven kings before the beast, the first five are;

Cain was the beginning of false worship as Satan initiated false religion by questioning what God said and placing doubt in Adam and Eve’s minds. Cain was a murderer of the true worshipper of God who offered up sacrifices pleasing to God, his brother Abel. See Genesis 4. He was of that wicked one, as John said in 1John 3:12. The only logical interpretation of that from the text in Genesis is that he followed Satan in his practices and belief. Some imply some type of sexual thing between Eve and Satan but it is not warranted by the text. One path of his religion resulted in the Hindu Prasada or vegetable offering to the gods where nothing can be offered that suffered pain. This, even though God tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. (Hebrews 9:22)

Cain founded a city. The ancient city was first and foremost a religious institution, if we let the Bible interpret itself, a type of pagan church, was never formed by degrees as people entered in, but was founded at once, in a day, with families of like mind, who formed the basis of one religious worship, ruled by their king. So, Cain would logically have been the first king, so to speak, of false religious worship based on Satan’s putting the question in the mind of Cain’s parents of what God said.(21) Cain is the first type of the beast, who is also of that wicked one.

(21) Ibid., 134.

The second fallen king is Nimrod, founder of Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in the plain of Shinar from where the ancient empire of Sumeria rose up. At Babel mankind united together in a purpose.

Genesis 11:4  And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Nimrod was a mighty one in the earth and a mighty hunter before the Lord. (Genesis 10:8,9) One legend I read was that Nimrod was instrumental in keeping predatory animals, which were growing in numbers unchecked after the landing of the Ark of Noah, down to protect the people. But, it is hard to say what legends are made up and then read back into the Bible just as our modern-day view of the purpose of a king is then read back into the Bible. In any event Nimrod stood before God as a mighty hunter who founded cities. It makes perfect sense for man to gather together in cities for mutual protection in a world that was not only drying out from the Flood but where great beasts were a danger. Remember from reading Job there were still dinosaurs, dragons, roaming about in his day. A recent direct carbon-dating of so-called triceratops bones revealed that dinosaurs, what we used to call dragons, are not so old. This was confirmed by the presence of soft tissue and blood in these types of bones that were once thought to be 70 million years old, which is, of course, preposterous.(22)

Whatever the case, this king, Nimrod, grandson of the shameful Ham who disgraced his father which was a terrible thing in that world, brought all of existing mankind together, what amounted to dozens of families, to begin a project opposed to acknowledging God and to lifting themselves up as great and to keep mankind from having dominion over the earth by spreading out. There is a matter of control here as mankind stands united against God’s purpose. Think of how the early Christians huddled in Jerusalem and God had to use persecution to drive them out to do what He had ordained them to do. (see Acts 1:8; 4:31; 8:1 with the command to Noah in Genesis 9:1) Nimrod is a second type of the beast, the second king, who was of that wicked one. So, the first two kings of the five fallen ones institute create false religion and draw mankind together against God’s purpose, following after the wicked one who called into doubt what God had said. There are three more fallen kings to consider.

(22) John Michael Fischer “Carbon-14-dated Dinosaur Bones are less than 40,000 years old,” http://newgeology.us/presentation48.html (accessed 4.12.2016).

Helen Fields, “Dinosaur Shocker,” Smithsonian Magazine, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dinosaur-shocker-115306469/?no-ist (accessed 4.12.2016).

Revelation 17:7-9 comments: the beast that was, and is not, and yet is

7 ¶  And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 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. 9  And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

The beast that ascends from the bottomless pit carries the woman. The woman, Mystery Babylon, rides on the beast so he supports her. They that dwell on the earth who are not God’s people shall wonder as they behold the beast. A wonder is a sign in Deuteronomy 13:1,2; 28:46; & Isaiah 20:3 and it is an amazing thing, something to consider, in Revelation 12.  The beast that was, and is not, and yet is, is an ancient evil that appears in a modern form. He represents a system that has its roots as far back as Satan in Eden in the guise of a serpent or dragon questioning God’s word, as old as Sodom and Gomorrah in their wickedness, and as violent and forceful as Assyria.  He was something, is not the same as that something, and yet He is. We see things in today’s world, wrapped in technology and ease of living, pretty paper and ribbon so to speak, but they are something no different in essence from what was long ago.

Mankind’s rebellion against God, fueled by Satan’s rage and pride, and both of our desires to be God, takes form that looks modern and new in a world that looks different but is the same old serpent that lay coiled around men’s hearts, figuratively speaking, six thousand years ago. You can see it in the Vatican in Rome, in Canterbury, in Nashville, in Mecca, and any fundamentalist church or mosque just as you can see it in Washington DC, London, Riyadh, and Teheran. The tendrils of smoke of the sacrifices to Satan, the god of this world in 2Corinthians 4:4, made by world leaders and clerics swirl around the capitals of the world’s political and religious powers.

This scarlet, red, crimson colored beast from verse 3 is the fulfillment of thousands of years of the history of evil. The conquerors like Alexander, Julius Caesar, and Genghis Khan were types of him. The founders of false religious empires and systems like Constantine, Mohammed, and Henry VIIIth of England were types of him. They led millions to their deaths, sometimes in a wrong belief that to obey them to the death was to obey the God of heaven. World War One is a classic example of kings, most of them from the same family, sending millions to an untimely death in a false veneration and worship, going off to die for ‘king and country,’ for a ‘glorious cause,’ and all thinking that God Himself was on their own side. Of course, the prime ministers who actually started the wars knew better and the wicked financiers who funded the wars knew better but the beast reared his ugly head nonetheless and was clearly visible although unseen by most.

And here the seven heads we’ve seen referred to several times are seven mountains on which the woman sits.

Revelation, chapter 17:1-6, comments: Mystery Babylon introduced

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: 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. 3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

From the time of the Emperor Vespasian, in the era of the fall of Jerusalem to and destruction of the temple by his son and general and future emperor Titus, there are coins still existing that show the goddess Roma as a woman seated on seven hills. Rome, as an entity, spiritual or temporal, spiritual or political, has existed from the eighth century BC onward and exists now as the Roman Catholic Church.

The Pope represents the ancient Emperor, the Cardinals the Senate, on down to the Priests representing the lowest level magistrates of Rome. The ancient pagan title of chief of priests the pontifex maximus is the Pope’s title now as Supreme Pontiff.

Jerusalem has also said to be a city set on seven hills.(19)

The rulers of the earth have committed spiritual fornication with this mystery and the people of the earth have been made drunk with it. The imagery is stark. The woman rides the beast, is decked with scarlet and purple, and adorned with gold and precious stones. She is wealthy and regal. Mystery means that what she is really is hidden and unknown although only thinly so.

1Corinthians 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

The essence of the Babylonian impulse in is idolatrous ecumenism, hypocritical double-standards, and a union of church and state. From Babylon’s earliest manifestation in the Bible we have the desire to unite the people of the earth in assailing heaven in opposition to God.

Genesis 11:4  And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Babel, or Babylon, same word, means, according to Strong’s dictionary, “confusion by mixing.” Babylonian type religion is the source of all religious corruption, bringing the defiled together with the pure, bringing error together with truth, all for a purpose not in God’s directive will.

Worldwide conferences of religion where every religious impulse is glorified as an aspiration on the part of man to the divine even if they are completely against the standards laid down by the God of the Bible are an example of this. The ecumenical Babylonian says, “it’s all good,” and, “it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe in something.” God defines religion very carefully in the Bible, giving us the proper expression of our faith.

James 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

He shows us the proof of our indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

…and He shows us that there is only one truth and that is Christ.

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The embracing of any spiritual desire of man, no matter where it leads him, is an example of this neo-pagan ecumenism, this Babylonian impulse in unregenerate man. They will say, “we are all God’s children,” when in reality…

John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

As Peter acknowledged….

Acts 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Jesus remarks about this woman mixing in leaven, or corruption, in three measures of meal until the whole was corrupted in a warning. Could this refer to the three main branches of Christianity; Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestantism, mixing in pagan and secular with worship?

Matthew 13:33  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Luke 12:1  In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

The Vatican in Rome embraces this corruption when they embrace other religions as being God-acknowledged “aspirations to the divine,” and criticizes people of wealth while it is incredibly wealthy and criticizes building walls to protect a nation when it’s administrative center is also protected in a likewise manner. The Protestant fundamentalist embraces this corruption when he insists you have to long for a time in America’s history that never existed where citizens were faithful, church-going Christians who lived right and pure before God and loved their fellow man and that one political party has a lock on God’s approval simply because it’s candidates say, “God,” every other sentence. The Protestant mainline church embraces this Babylonian mixture when it says that it is okay for someone who rejects God’s standards of morality to be a priest in their denomination.

The uniting point of all of these faith traditions is that the church can make it up as it goes along and God, or the God they have created in their minds, must accept what the people decide, the Laodicean, or people judge, church. To these wicked religionists God’s word was only given by inspiration at one time in history and He was unable to preserve it. God’s word to them is of no more importance to them than their traditions, fears, cultural preferences, bigotry, or worship of self.

Under the power and authority of the beast who is under the power and authority of Satan, they will slaughter believers who come to God with an open heart desiring to be taught by the Holy Spirit, and eventually demand that the believer reject Christ or die. This is the eventual outcome of all human-centered religion; Christian, Muslim, Jew, or other just as the culturally dominant and accepted form of Christianity in nineteenth century America led directly to the unbelief of the twentieth. As the Greek philosopher, Protagoras said, “Man is the measure of all things.” This Babylonian religion ultimately unites church and state in a humanistic combination that throughout history has proved most deadly and filled with the most error. Through the state man magnifies himself above God.

Babylonian religion claims to be of God but elevates man to His position. As Richard T. Ely, mentor and teacher of President Woodrow Wilson said,

Now, it may rationally be maintained that, if there is anything divine on earth, it is the State, the product of the same God-given instincts which led to the establishment of the Church and of the Family. It was once held that kings ruled by right divine, and in any widely accepted belief, though it be afterwards discredited, there is generally found a kernel of truth. In this case it was the divine right of the state.(20)

The false prophet who comes out of the earth in Revelation 13:11 looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon. Until the beast declares that he himself is God this Mystery Babylon is most useful in bringing the world together under a one-world church and state tyranny, rejecting the Bible statements that Christ is the only way to God.

This Mystery Babylon will be responsible for blood of millions of martyrs shed by the beast who supports her as long as she is useful.

(19) Ernest L. Martin, “The Seven Hills of Jerusalem,” on Associates for Scriptural Knowledge, http://askelm.com/prophecy/p000201.htm. (updated February 1, 2000).

(20) Gary M. Pequet and Clifford M. Thies, “The Shaping of a Future President’s Economic Thought: Richard T. Ely and Woodrow Wilson at “The Hopkins,” The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy 15, no. 2 (Fall 2010): 262, 266. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed August 2, 2011).