Revelation Chapter 17
VERSE 8 continued “The beast that thou saw WAS, and IS NOT; and IS ABOUT TO COME up out of the abyss…”
Point # 2: The PARTIAL beast (of Verses 8, 11-13, 16, 17) is THUS SAID to be “of the seven,” but NOT ONE of the seven.” (We should not look for a definition of this [partial] beast prior to the first head since Verse 11 says that it is “of the seven.”)
Verse 11 “The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.”
This aberration of the people’s rising up, (the BODY of the beast rising up) happened DURING THE TIME of the WHOLE beast’s continuing to function with its head and horns. Thus, this PARTIAL beast WAS (but not for long) during the French Revolution.
It WAS during the “wilderness” period, the 1260 years.
It WAS while the WHOLE beast continued to function in the other 9/10ths of the city (Great Babylon).
But, in Brother Russell’s day, it was appropriately said that this beast “IS NOT” because the uprising of the body was in the past. The prophecy shows, however, that this aberration (uprising of the body, the people) will AGAIN manifest itself -- “it is about to come up and go into destruction.” (Verse 8)
Verse 8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition…”
Point # 3: The PARTIAL beast is a “king,” but NOT a new head.
When we look at Verses 9 and 10, we are asked to apply wisdom -- to interpret the symbols the angel gave us. We encounter an interesting and important SWITCH of symbols. First, we are told that the heads (forms of government) ARE mountains (kingdoms.) This is not too difficult to conceive of as each of the seven heads, while in existence, was considered AN EMPIRE (kingdom.)
The next statement is the tricky one:
“And (THEY) are seven kings…”
Some translators word it:
“And (THERE) are seven kings…”
The fact is, the Greek does NOT have “they” or “there” both words are supplied by the translators according to their understanding. As we can see, the choice MAKES A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE!
Which is correct?
There is evidence in the context that the first example is the correct idea, the seven heads or seven mountains ARE seven kings. Because we KNOW the basic sequence of heads from history, we KNOW that in Brother Russell’s day FIVE heads (or mountains) were in the past. It says the SAME THING about the kings -- FIVE are past.
Verse 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.”
For a more through look at these seven heads please see our blog post entitled, “How to study the book of Revelation”, under “The Seven Heads” Parts 43 and 44
It seems MOST LOGICAL, then, to EQUATE heads, mountains, and kings. If we say the kings are different from and in addition to the heads, we are faced with an interpretation seemingly beyond possibility. But this leaves one big question:
Why does the symbology change from head to king?
THE ANSWER:
It changes because the beast ONLY HAS SEVEN HEADS -- never anymore! But, the Partial Beast (the one which was, but isn’t, but will be) WILL BE a king but NOT a new head. This is why the symbology HAD TO CHANGE. Hence:
“The (partial) beast . . . is himself also an eighth (king), and is of (or related to the history of) the seven (kings or heads)” which the beast had in the past.
What does this mean?
What’s the difference between a head and a king?
This is CENTRAL to interpretation.
The harlot sits on the beast with seven heads. This means that all the heads are in collusion with the harlot.
BUT THIS EIGHTH KING does NOT work with the harlot. She does NOT sit on or control this beast (body of people) any more than she controlled the French Republic. It is, therefore, NOT an eighth head; it is an eighth king (or ruler). It will rule, just as the French Republic did.
The change of symbology from the heads to kings was NECESSARY in order to make this point clear.
This “wisdom” or understanding is what was implied by the angel when he stated, “Here is the mind which has wisdom…” if you are able to grasp this thought, i.e., the difference between a “head” and a “king” as used by the angel in the context, then do you possess the mind which hath wisdom.
In the general sense we know the identity of the dragon and the beast; however it’s their “heads” and “horns” which tend to give us the most trouble.
With this much established, it will now be easier to take a verse-by-verse look at the remainder of this chapter. (N.A.N.O.R. Pages 134-136)
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