And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the
eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
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.
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 lords, and King of kings: and they that are
with him are called, and chosen, and faithful [Rev. 17:11–14].
And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an
eighth, and is of the seven, and is going into perdition. And the ten horns
that thou sawest are ten kings, who (of the kind which) have received no
kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the wild beast,
for one hour. These have one mind, and they give (over) their power and
authority unto the beast. These shall war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall
overcome them, for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and those with
Him (shall overcome), called and chosen and faithful.
At times the wild Beast signifies, generally, the Roman
Empire, but also it signifies the last or eighth head; that is, the
individual emperor who is Antichrist. Now here the Anti-christ is
designated. He is the “little horn” in the vision that God gave to the
prophet Daniel. The “little horn” puts down three other horns—that is, three
kings—when he comes to power. “I considered the horns, and, behold, there
came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the
first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes
like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things…. And the ten horns
out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise
after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue
three kings” (Dan. 7:8, 24). In my book,
Delving Through Daniel, I go into detail on
this “little horn.”
“The beast that was” refers to the past history of the
Roman Empire under the emperors.
“And is not” refers to the end of Imperial Rome with its
global empire, which came to an end sometime between the third and fifth
centuries.
“Is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven”
identifies the Antichrist with the return to the imperial form of the
restored Roman Empire. He is the “little horn” of Daniel, chapter 7. He is
not one of the ten horns, but he is separate from them. He is an eighth head
in this seven, yet he is one of the seven since he restores the last form of
government to Rome. Now that will confuse you, I know, but that is exactly
what is being said here in Revelation.
“The ten horns” are the same as the ten horns of Daniel
7:7. These ten kings will reign with the Antichrist but will be subservient
to him. They willingly or unwillingly give over their authority to the
Antichrist and become his puppets.
And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest,
where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and
tongues.
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.
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.
And the woman which thou sawest is that great city,
which reigneth over the kings of the earth [Rev. 17:15–18].
And he saith to me, The waters which thou sawest where
the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes (mobs), and nations, and
tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall
hate the harlot, and shall make her desolated and naked, and shall eat her
flesh, and shall burn her (down) with fire. For God did put into their
hearts to do His mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom
unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman
whom thou sawest is the great city, which hath a kingdom over the kings of
the earth.
“The waters” are explained to be the many ethnological
groups as well as the nations of the world. This figure is in harmony with
that used in the Old Testament. You can check that out with Isaiah 8:7 and
Psalm 18. The position of the harlot reveals that she is ruling over them
for only a brief time.
“The ten horns” are ten kings (as told us in verse 12)
who rule over the different divisions of the Roman Empire. They in turn give
over to the Beast their kingdoms. This solidifies the Roman Empire and
enables the Beast to lift himself up as a world dictator.
For a time the Beast (Antichrist) is willing to share his
place of exaltation with the harlot, since she has also sought to advance
his cause while dividing his glory. This he hates, and the ten kings are one
with him in this. The Antichrist not only breaks his covenant with Israel,
but he also breaks his relationship with the apostate church. This hatred
against the apostate church is so violent that the reaction is described as
the cannibalistic picking of her bones, then burning them with fire! This
great hatred destroys the false church. This is what happens to the false
church. It has no victory. It never comes into the presence of Christ. It is
not raptured. Finally it is destroyed by the Antichrist.
In doing this the Antichrist and his ten allies are
fulfilling the Word of God and carrying out His will as did the Assyrian (as
predicted in Isaiah 10:5–19) and just as surely as Caesar Augustus did when
he signed the tax bill that moved Mary and Joseph down to Bethlehem so
Scripture could be fulfilled.
By eliminating the apostate church, the way is cleared
for the worship of Antichrist, as advocated by the False Prophet.
“The woman” is a religious system, as we have seen. Also,
I believe she is further identified as a city, the city of Rome.
This is the frightful but just end of the apostate
church. However, it does not improve the situation. Rather it introduces the
darkest period for religion in the history of the world. The reign and
religion of Antichrist is the darkest hour earth will know, and yet it is
the inevitable end of the distrust which began in the Garden of Eden when
man failed to believe God. It was given new impetus at the Tower of Babel,
which was a rallying place for those against God. And finally it climaxed in
the crucifixion of Jesus Christ when man rejected the One who is the Way,
the Truth, and the Life. Having rejected the truth, the only alternative
left for man is to believe the big lie, the strong delusion. History will
culminate in the catastrophic coming of Christ to this earth, as we shall
see in chapter 19. This is the just retribution of error and evil.
My friend, you as a Christian should have thankfulness in
your heart, knowing you will be spared from the Great Tribulation, but also
you should have a real concern for your loved ones who may be facing this
frightful period that lies ahead.
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible
Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997,
c1981, S. 5:1034-1036