The Kings?

[Kris762]

“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.

From what I've read it seems common opinion that the 7 kings in the above passage from Revelations are popes? I've been searching and have found that there have been so far 265 popes so how does the 7 fit into the picture?

Popular opinion also leans toward the seven heads being the hills that surround the vatican? And the woman is the vatican or catholic church herself?

The beast is the eighth which I presume is the antichrist?

Am I wrong with any of this? Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks.

[Kris762]

Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, gare 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.”

So the woman is Rome? Who is the Harlot?

[Robert]

“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.

From what I've read it seems common opinion that the 7 kings in the above passage from Revelations are popes? I've been searching and have found that there have been so far 265 popes so how does the 7 fit into the picture?

Popular opinion also leans toward the seven heads being the hills that surround the vatican? And the woman is the vatican or catholic church herself?

The beast is the eighth which I presume is the antichrist?

Am I wrong with any of this? Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks.

The problem is that the "mountains" the woman sits on are not mentioned to be all in the same place. Additionally, I think it's a little thin on biblical "evidence" that the kings were popes; I would have to say that "kings" would mean leaders in the political sense. This isn't to say the RCC would not be absorbed into the one world religion, but I don't see it as being the sole constituent.

The Harlot I would say represents all the false religion of the world that has come together into the one world religion during the tribulation. The reason I say all of this is because the Beast would seem to be a secular leader, and once the false religion has done its' job, he does away with it in a world that has turned altogether from worshiping any "god" they cannot see. A secular world that worships in a humanistic manner and worships the Beast alone by the end of the trib.

[Robert]

Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, gare 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.”

So the woman is Rome? Who is the Harlot?

As I mentioned, the Harlot would be the one world false religion, which like the US government being called "Washington", is represented by being called "Babylon".

I might be wrong on this, but this is my best answer based on my reading in Revelation.

[Kris762]

Thanks Robert, I've been doing some more reading and it does seem your opinion explains best what those particular points of Scripture in Revelations are referring to.

The whole pope thing doesnt seem to fit in with the seven kings, although thats not to say he wont manifest into becoming the "false prophet".

Thanks

[Sean Osborne]

For the full context one must prayerfully study the directly related portions of Revelation 13, Revelation 17 and the Book of Daniel. The first beast, the Antichrist, comes out of the Gentile nations (figuratively: the sea), and most probably from the bloodline of Javan, through Alexander the Great and the line of Macedonian-Greek kings of the Seleucid line who play a significant role in Daniel. The second beast comes from the land. This is the false prophet, and will be quite probably of Jewish heritage. Note that the rise of the first beast (Antichrist) is concurrent with the nations he rises with. Note also that they encompass the same attributes (if not physical land area) as the ancient Roman, Greek, Archaemenid-Persian and Babylonian empires. This is represented by the two legs and ten toes seen in Daniel's interpretation of nebuchadnezzar's dream vision. The rise of the empire clearly will occur after Ezekiel 38/39 has been fulfilled because it will occupy much of if not the same landmass as those ancient empires did. Also of note, the wars which preceed the rise of the Antichrist will have destroyed Islam as we currently know it.

This is a nutshell version of what I have learned from my studies over 40 years, and should serve to set others off on a similar line of study.