Revelation 17:9-11
9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
So what or who is the 8th king?
Some people see the seven kings as empires and some see them as people who are kings. I see the beast out of the sea as a demon influencing Rome and its leaders in the first century and the seven 7 kings were the first seven Caesars.
If the 8th king is just a person or an empire then how does this 8th king make sense?
How could an empire or person be "once was and now is not"?
How could an empire or person be the 8th king but belong to the seven?
I think that only a demon could fit these descriptions but I also think that there is more to the meaning of the 8th king.
Antoichus Epiphanies was going to be the 11th king but three were uprooted before him and he became the 8th king. Antiochus ravaged Jerusalem and desecrated the temple and stopped the daily sacrifices. Antiochus was also defeating the Jews until the Maccabees revolted against him and took back the city and rededicated the temple and sacrifices. Antiochus was eventually struck down by God.
I think that the meaning of the 8th king in Revelation was also a message to the Jews that a soon coming persecution (the events of 70AD) was coming to Jerusalem but this time there would be no Judas the hammer Maccabees to save them. I think that this demonic beast was eventually defeated and judged as was Rome but not until Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish leadership at that time and the temple age were destroyed forever.
9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
So what or who is the 8th king?
Some people see the seven kings as empires and some see them as people who are kings. I see the beast out of the sea as a demon influencing Rome and its leaders in the first century and the seven 7 kings were the first seven Caesars.
If the 8th king is just a person or an empire then how does this 8th king make sense?
How could an empire or person be "once was and now is not"?
How could an empire or person be the 8th king but belong to the seven?
I think that only a demon could fit these descriptions but I also think that there is more to the meaning of the 8th king.
Antoichus Epiphanies was going to be the 11th king but three were uprooted before him and he became the 8th king. Antiochus ravaged Jerusalem and desecrated the temple and stopped the daily sacrifices. Antiochus was also defeating the Jews until the Maccabees revolted against him and took back the city and rededicated the temple and sacrifices. Antiochus was eventually struck down by God.
I think that the meaning of the 8th king in Revelation was also a message to the Jews that a soon coming persecution (the events of 70AD) was coming to Jerusalem but this time there would be no Judas the hammer Maccabees to save them. I think that this demonic beast was eventually defeated and judged as was Rome but not until Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish leadership at that time and the temple age were destroyed forever.