The End Times: Who is the Beast and the Antichrist?

When are the seals opened?

What time period was John, in the spirit, taken to? And what’s happening?

John gave the time period when he said he saw a lamb as having just been slain, so the time period is right after the crucifixion.

What is happening is Jesus is opening the mystery which had been hidden from ages and generations that Paul described in Ephesians.

@selahsays offered an outline. Do you have one?

When what?

The thing is, John is being taken ahead in time into the future—to the Day of the Lord. John is witnessing in heaven visions that God is showing him and he is writing down what he is observing. The Day of the Lord is when Jesus returns at the 7th trump and the millennium begins.

The thing is, John is being taken ahead in time into the future—to the Day of the Lord. John is witnessing in heaven visions that God is showing him and he is writing down what he is observing. The Day of the Lord is when Jesus returns at the 7th trump and the millennium begins.

Yes brother it was the first one you agreed with earlier in my prior comment ….this was an example of what I was trying to say lol

John gave the time period when he said he saw a lamb as having just been slain, so the time period is right after the crucifixion.

What is happening is Jesus is opening the mystery which had been hidden from ages and generations that Paul described in Ephesians.

John according to 1:19 is seeing things which were and are, and which are hereafter.

Which is preceded by this:

Revelation 17:7

"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."

There are two separate entities being described here:

1. The woman.
2. The beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

In other words, the seven heads or seven hills are part of the beast, and not of the woman.

You are conflating the two.

The woman is Jerusalem, and the beast is Rome or, more specifically, Papal Rome.

Cool. I just wanted to give you opportunity to shine even more.

Cool. I just wanted to give you opportunity to shine even more.

Just to keep things from being wrongly conflated...

Revelation chapter 17

[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.

In this 17th chapter of the book of Revelation, there are two primary and different entities being described:

1. “The great whore” (vs. 1), who is not only a “whore” (vss. 15-16), but also “THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (vs. 5).

In other words, in the same way a natural mother is the progenitor or the person from which her children originate or descend, whoever this “whore” is, she is the spiritual “MOTHER” or progenitor of the “HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” which have descended from her.

This is a very significant point, and we simply must not overlook it.

This “great whore,” or “whore,” or “MOTHER OF HARLOTS” is also described as being a “woman” (vss. 3-4, 6-7, 9), and we are told exactly what she represents:

Revelation 17:18

“And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”

This “great whore,” or “whore,” or “MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH,” or “woman” is “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”

Let me pause here for just a moment to make the following very important point:

Revelation 1:19

“Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;”

When John received his revelation from Jesus Christ, he was shown “things which are, and things which shall be hereafter.”

Why is this significant?

It is significant because when we read how “the woman” is “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth,” this does not necessarily mean that this “great city” was then reigning. In other words, it could also easily mean that this “great city” would be reigning “hereafter.”

Please keep this in mind, and I will address this further momentarily.

2. “A scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns” that the “woman sits upon” (vs. 3), or “the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns” (vs. 7).

Again, there are two different entities being described here, and we must not conflate the two or somehow erroneously combine the two into being one and the same entity. In other words, there is “a beast,” and there is also a “woman” who “sits upon” it or who is being “carried” by it.

Before we briefly look at some other descriptors that we are given in relation to this “beast,” let us first determine what a “beast” actually represents in Bible prophecy.

Like John, the prophet Daniel had visions concerning “beasts,” and here is what they represent:

Daniel 7:17

“These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.”

Daniel 7:23

“Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.”

In Bible prophecy, a “beast” is representative of a “king” and his “kingdom.”

Whoever this “beast/king/kingdom” is, it has “seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 17:3, 7), so what do “heads” and “horns” represent in Bible prophecy?

Regarding the “seven heads,” we read:

Revelation 17:9

“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”

These “seven heads” represent “seven mountains” or “seven hills.”

Please also note that these “seven heads,” or “seven mountains,” or "seven hills" are part of the beast (Revelation 17:3, 7).

In other words, these “seven mountains” or “seven hills” pertain to “the beast,” and not to the “woman” who is sitting upon “the beast” and its “seven mountains” or “seven hills.”

Again, there are clearly two different entities being spoken of here, and we simply must not erroneously conflate the two.

Having determined what these “seven heads” represent, what do the “ten horns” represent?

Revelation chapter 17

[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.
[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.

These “ten horns” upon “the beast” represent “ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast” (vs. 12).

Please notice that these “ten horns” or “ten kings” had not yet received their kingdoms at the time of John’s writing, so, again, when we read about how they “shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire” (vs. 16), we are reading of a FUTURE time frame or of that which shall occur "hereafter" (Revelation 1:19).

With such being the case, it is beyond plausible that “the whore,” or “woman,” or "that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth" that these ten kings will hate is referring to a FUTURE reign as well.

To summarize, here is what the Bible foretold:

That there would be a “beast” or “kingdom” which would have “seven heads,” or “seven mountains,” or “seven hills.”

Furthermore, the Bible foretold of a time when “ten horns” would be upon this “beast” or when “ten kings” would give their power to this "beast/kingdom" to burn “the woman” or “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”

“The beast” is the Vatican, and “the woman” or “the whore” is Jerusalem which will enter into a last days agreement with the Vatican, and this is why she is depicted as sitting atop the beast.

This really is not that complicated.

Past present future

“And there are seven kings:

five are fallen,( johns past )

and one is,( johns present )

and the other is not yet come; ( johns prophetic near future ) and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.



And ( also seperate from ) the beast that was,( past ) and is not,( present ) 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.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭17:10-12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“The beast that thou sawest was, ( past ) and is not; ( present ) and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: ( future )

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.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭17:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Back to chapter eleven

“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭11:7‬ ‭

pauls talking of the same evil man

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, ( future ) except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”
‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

[18] And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Jerusalem has never reigned over the kings of the earth.

I can think of a city that has reigned over the kings of the earth!

The woman sits on the seven hills.

Your ignoring that the woman is a city and is seated on the seven hills.

That the city is one very powerful and wealthy city is beyond debate.

Jerusalem is a poor, backwater city, with virtually no trade.

[18] And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Jerusalem has never reigned over the kings of the earth.

I can think of a city that has reigned over the kings of the earth!

What do you think out of the sea and out of the land refer to?

The KJV reads "out of the earth" (not "out of the land"), and I believe that both depictions refer to the same thing.

Revelation 13:1-2

"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. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority."

This "first beast" (Revelation 13:14) is a compilation of "beasts" ("a leopard," "a bear," and "a lion") which were equally seen as rising up out of the sea in the book of Daniel, and we get the interpretation there of what "the sea" represents.

Daniel 7:1-6

"In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it."

Later, Daniel was told exactly what "the sea" represented.

Daniel 7:15-17

"I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth."

Apparently, these beasts which "came up from the sea" were representative of kings/kingdoms "which shall arise out of the earth."

This is the same description that we get concerning the "another beast" in the book of Revelation.

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."

If we allow the Bible to be its own interpreter, then we can have clarity.

Of course, if we just make things up, as several people on this thread have already done, then there is much confusion.