What are the seven kings of Revelation 17:10?

Who are they and what is the significance of this prophecy to the end times? Here is the text in question...

Revelation 17 King James Version (KJV)

"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."

One of the key points is "the beast that was, and is not" but comes back. Notice "the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns", it is the same beast which receives the 'deadly wound' in Revelation 13.

Revelation 13 King James Version (KJV)

1 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.
2 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.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

So the beast in Revelation 13 is the same beast you find in Revelation 17. The big difference is there's a woman sitting on the beast in Revelation 17. The difference is now you've got a woman, and in scripture you find a woman is a symbol of a church. This church is one that is controlling the power of Rome. So what came after the Roman Empire and rose to not just having power but a religious entity, students of history know. It says these are seven mountains, and Rome is called the city of seven hills, and a religious/political power rose from the ashes of the Roman Empire. And at the time of John, this religious entity was yet to appear as it says there are seven kings - five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come.

These heads represent kingdoms that persecuted God's people. You've got Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece. Five that were in the past when John has this vision, all five of those powers occupied the children of Israel and persecuted them.

Now of the fallen those are all in the past, and it says five are fallen. It says one is - that was Rome at John's time, Pagan Rome ruled by the Caesars. And it says the other is not yet come, and when he is come, he must continue a short space. That's a religious/political entity, with the power of Rome ruled by the church and it says he's also the eighth. Why? You go to Revelation 13, it says he gets a deadly wound but he comes back again and goes and all the way to the end when Christ comes.

So this woman of Revelation 17 represents Babylon, the mother of harlots, false religion or apostate Christianity. Seven heads it says are seven mountains and then it says ten horns. These ten horns are the ten divisions of the Roman Empire that represent the nations of the world today. Just like in Daniel 2, where you've got the ten toes of the image after the Roman Empire, you've got the ten divisions of that Empire.

We have in verse 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..' Now the word kings there means kings or kingdoms, and it appears there's going to be a short time near the end of time where this beast power is going to allow these different nations to have authority as long as they direct their people and the worship back to this religious entity which comes back, but it's temporary.

As the next chapter clearly is about the fall of Babylon and these other kings of the earth are bewailing and lamenting her destruction. So for a brief period of time just before the plagues are poured out, the divisions of the Roman Empire are going to once again direct their authority back to the beast.

Revelation 18 King James Version (KJV)

"1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,"

Davy said:

That is where many get lost. Rev.13 is describing 2 separate 'beasts'. Likewise, so is Rev.17. We have to learn to keep them separate within the prophecy. It's not that difficult, just can't get distracted and must focus.

Rev 17:7-13
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.

Rev.13 defined a beast out of the sea with ten horns, seven heads, and ten crowns, and another beast that comes up out of the earth which is the Antichrist, doing miracles to deceive. So which beast is this one above? The first beast of Rev.13, a kingdom beast. It's the first beast that has those seven heads and horns. In Rev.13:2, Jesus links the first beast idea with the beast kingdoms idea in the Book of Daniel.


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.

Which beast came up out of the earth in Rev.13? The 2nd beast, the "another beast", an entity, a person, the Antichrist working miracles on earth, raining fire down from heaven in the sight of men. This is the beast king example from the Book of Daniel. So this Rev.17:8 verse changes to the subject of the 'beast king'.

If you don't understand why Rev.12:3-4 is mentioning a beast kingdom in conjunction when Satan (red dragon) drew a third of the stars (angels) to earth (in rebellion, at Satan's original first rebellion against God, prior to Adam and Eve), then you probably won't understand 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.

Little test for us, to see if we've paid attention. Now the Scripture subject reverts back to the subject of the kingdom beast, with the seven heads and ten horns.


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.

And yet again, another subject switch. The Scripture now reverts back to the subject of the beast king, an entity, a person. Five kings were already gone in Apostle John's day, the 6th was then in his day, and the other (7th) was not yet (but for the end). The short space is about the time of great tribulation for the end of this world.


11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

Again, the subject is still about the beast king idea. This beast king "was, and is not," because our Lord Jesus is revealing who this is by His continuing to point out this one goes into perdition, which means perishing in the lake of fire. He is pointing to Satan as that beast king for the end. He was, in that time of old when he tried to usurp God's throne. He is not, because God ended Satan's rebellion of old. He yet is, because God is going to allow Satan to come again for the end of this present world, and sit over this ten horn beast kingdom. The 8th king role is for Satan's final release and deception after the future Rev.20 "thousand years".


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.
KJV

They receive power with the beast... king. That is who they will give their power to, as shown in the Book of Daniel.

This above revelation changes a lot of your latter part of your post.

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Like in the book of Daniel its talking about the timeline in history. A woman in the Bible is a symbol for God’s people. In Revelation, God’s true church is portrayed as a pure woman.

Revelation 12 King James Version (KJV)
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

(Note the great red dragon which clearly denotes Satan, so now we know the origin of this power)
Now we go to Revelation 17:
Revelation 17 King James Version (KJV)
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.

A harlot thus represents a false apostate church and in Revelation 17:5, this harlot is identified as Babylon the Great. Revelation 17 gives us a glimpse of what Babylon will be like. Using prophetic language, it describes a woman who rejects God with her whole being:
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: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH (Revelation 17:4-5).

The woman that rides the Beast has all the identifying features of who is this entity. We find much in the Bible, a woman represents a church:

I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman (Jeremiah 6:2).

Isaiah the prophet extends the symbol of a woman to that of a bride. The pure bride represents the pure Church:

For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee (Isaiah 62:5).

Hosea describes the union of God and His people:

And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies (Hosea 2:19).

The same symbolism is employed in the New Testament:

...for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2)

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27).

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready (Revelation 19:7).

This beautiful picture of Christ and His Bride, the Church, is marred by the image of a church, “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 ” (Revelation 17:2).

There is the only one church on earth that fulfills these identifiers of the woman called Babylon in Revelation 17. The description of Babylon given in the book of Revelation clearly identifies Babylon as this antichrist power that persecuted the true believers and has let corruption in and has reached across the world. Because of this church's deviations from the Bible, the Protestants of the Reformation and after, referred to the church with a mere man who claims the power of God on earth, as spiritual Babylon.

Continuing with Revelation 17:
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.

The seven kings are the seven beasts of biblical prophecy. Kings, mountains, and beasts are used interchangeably in the above verses. The book of Daniel identifies kings and or kingdoms with prophetic beasts. Mountains also may prophetically represent kingdoms. Mount Zion is the kingdom of God. Satan was kicked out of the holy mountain of God, God's kingdom(Eze 28). The seven kings, beasts, and mountains are his counterfeit kingdoms of this world in rebellion against God.

The prophecy is given from the time of the sixth beast, kingdom, or mountain, for five have fallen when given. The beast that was, is not, and yet is, is the seventh beast of biblical prophecy foretold in Rev 13, as the resurrected beast who received a deadly wound which heals. It is the seventh and final beast of biblical prophecy which is the resurrected Holy Roman Empire on a global scale. It is said to be an eighth and one of the seven because it looked like it received a blow from Napoleons general that took away its temporal power and seemed to have taken down completely as a religious power, but it recovers from this deadly wound. The Church of Rome alone can fill this unique position.

Yes, the power behind them is the dragon or Satan and it has been there since the start of these kingdoms/beasts.

Revelation 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Revelation 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Now as to Antichrist power that receives the deadly would, need to look more closely at little horn beast in Daniel 7:

Daniel 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

This is also a reference to:

Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Continuing to follow the trail of seven heads and ten horns in the Bible leads us also to the beast in Revelation 17, the same beast destroyed in Revelation 19:20 as we have just seen.

Revelation 17:
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.

Note the contrast of this woman with the woman found in Revelation 12. In scripture a woman commonly represents a church and the symbolic woman of Revelation 12 represents the righteous church of believers that brought forth Jesus and is described in admirable terms. Compare that with the symbolic woman described here in Revelation 17, the apostate church. Note that this church is described as the Mother of Harlots. There is only one Christian church that is self-described as the Mother church, and arose from the declining Roman Empire and persecuted the true believers. Its not hard to figure out..

Take a look at the characteristics of the antichrist power, and the following becomes readily apparent:
1. It will rise to be a great power after the fall of the pagan Roman empire.
2. It will be a geographically small entity coming out of a larger entity (little horn).
3. It will rule over many people, nations, and tongues (it will be universal).
4. It will be headquartered in the city of seven hills, Rome.
5. It will be a religio-political entity — a political city-state ruled by a priest-king.
6. Its priest-king will make great and blasphemous claims.
7. It will claim authority over all kings.
8. It will claim its power to change the holy times and laws of God as its mark of authority.
9. It will be an apostate church, that makes the nations drink her cup of apostate doctrine.
10. It will be a "mother" church, with daughters coming from her.
11. It will be a persecuting power, killing the faithful saints of Jesus Christ as heretics.
12. It will hold power and authority for 1260 years following the fall of pagan Rome.
13. It will suffer a deadly wound that will end 1260 years of dominance and persecution.
14. It will be revived after the deadly wound, and all the world will wonder at it's revival.

I don't think anyone wants me to repost all the scriptures from Daniel and Revelation again, so lets go through history and see if it matches up. We can agree that Revelation 12 and 13 the Roman Empire is brought to view, and the dragon which is behind all this. It is not difficult to identify the red dragon with seven heads and ten horns as Rev 12:7 has "called the Devil, and Satan". It is represented as standing ready to devour a certain child as soon as it was born. This child we know is Jesus, from the fact that he is to “rule all nations with a rod of iron” Rev 12:5, and he was “caught up to his throne.” which is clear apply to no one but Jesus. And Rome, through Herod as its representative, stood ready to slay Jesus when he was born. Now we see Rome as a beast and what comes out of Rome to continue long after the Roman Empire, it becomes clear in Rev 13.

“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. ... And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

Compare this description with Dan. 7, and its clear the fourth beast also represents Rome. But you have a little horn coming out, so why is this, they represent two phases of Rome. Now we know that Rome in the time of Christ was pagan; therefore this second phase, represented by papal Rome. Notice in Rev 13 its blasphemous words, and its work of persecuting saints, and compare with the description of the little horn of Daniel 7. Notice also a time during which it was to have power to continue—“forty and two months.” This, at thirty days to the month, is just 1260 days (and as prophetic time its years), which if you look in history was the period of papal supremacy during the Dark Ages. Here, then, as in the seventh of Daniel, the prophecy marks a change from pagan to papal Rome.

Then in Dan. 8 we see more as the little horn that waxed “exceeding great,” and it is to be “broken without hand,” which shows that the little-horn power covers the whole of Roman history, reaching even to the coming of the Lord. This being the case, it is evident that here also we must have the two phases of this beast as the Roman Empire is no more, so the two phases are pagan Rome and papal Rome which continue after.

So lets look at history:
"In the last great persecution under Diocletian [A. D. 284-305], the bishops of Rome probably fled once more to the Catacombs. Their churches were torn down, their property confiscated, their sacred writings destroyed, and a vigorous effort was made to extirpate the powerful sect. But the effort was vain. Constantine soon afterward became emperor, and the Bishop of Rome emerged from the Catacombs to become one of the ruling powers of the world. This sudden change was followed by an almost total loss of the simplicity and purity of the days of persecution. Magnificent churches were erected by the emperor in Rome, adorned with images and pictures, where the bishop sat on a lofty throne, encircled by inferior priests, and performing rites borrowed from the splendid ceremonial of the pagan temple. The Bishop of Rome became a prince of the empire, and lived in a style of luxury and pomp that awakened the envy or the just indication of the heathen writer, Marcellinus. The church was now enriched by the gifts and bequests of the pious and the timid; the bishops drew great revenues from his farms in the Campagna and his rich plantations in Sicily; he rode through the streets of Rome in a stately chariot and clothed in gorgeous attire; his table was supplied with a profusion more than imperial; the proudest women of Rome loaded him with lavish donations, and followed him with their flatteries and attentions; and his haughty bearing and profuse luxury were remarked upon by both pagans and Christians as strangely inconsistent with the humility and simplicity enjoined by the faith which he professed. The bishopric of Rome now became a splendid prize, for which the ambitious and unprincipled contended by force or fraud.”—Historical Studies, pp. 17, 18.

It became even more evident as Justinian addressed the pope as being "the head of all the churches."—Code of Justinian, lib. I, title I.

Now this is interesting...
"Here is how Pagan Rome was converted to Papal Rome:

Roman Empire (Imperium Romanum) renamed: Roman Catholic Church

Curia (legal body of Senators) slight name change: Curia (legal body of Cardinals)

Roman Emperor renamed: Roman Pope (head of all church and state affairs)

Civil government matters of state: Extra-Ordinary affairs (matters of civil-state governments)

Religious orders matters: Church “ecclesiastical” matters

Roman College of Senators renamed: College of Cardinals

Magistrate of College of Senators renamed: Dean of College of Cardinals

Departments of the Roman Senatorial Curia renamed: Congregations

Political Ambassador renamed: Pro-Nuncio (highest civil ambassador sent to other governments, ie Washington DC, London etc)

......Roman Senators renamed: Cardinals

Roman Governors renamed: Archbishops

Roman Senator with no territory: Bishop (Code of Canon Law 376)

(Large) Roman Province renamed: Archdiocese

(Small) Roman Territory renamed: Diocese

Imperial Chair of Jupiter where Caesar sat renamed: Throne of St. Peter

Vestal Virgins renamed: Nuns

Pontifex Maximus (high priest of College of Senators) renamed: Supreme Pontiff of College of Cardinals

Pontiff or “high priest ” of a pagan religious order (Zues, Apollo, Diana, Mars, Jupiter, Baal, Dionysys, Pythia etc) same name: Pontiff

A Pontiff (Latin: “pontifex”) means bridge-builder or priest between man and the gods of the underworld.

The Roman Calendar and Holy Days of the gods renamed: Calendar Holidays of the Saints

Voice of the gods speaking through Caesar: Ex-Cathedra: Voice of God speaking through Pope

Meeting of the Pontiffs (high priests) of the pagan religious orders renamed: Ecumenical Council of the Bishops

Legal act of creating a god (of a living or dead human, as was done to most of the Caesars) “Apotheosis of the Gods” renamed: Canonization of the Saints

A decree of Caesar (dictator for life): Pope’s infallible Dogma

Praying to a dead human god renamed: Praying to a saint"
....Papal Rome as a Continuation of Pagan Rome

Jay Ross said:

I would really like to agree with you, but the scriptures do not support your theory. At the present moment in History with the Brexit exit of Britain from the European Union of nations we are seeing Satan working very hard to keep the delusion of the revived roman empire in place so that we look in the wrong direction in the formulation of our understanding of the book of Daniel and the end times.

In the Prophecy in Daniel 2 on the kingdoms that have dominion over the land of the Chaldeans, i.e. Babylon, the Roman Empire does not figure, nor is the Roman Empire the Fourth beast of Daniel 7:1-12.

In reading the Daniel 2 statue prophecy we also need to consider what Jeremiah wrote concerning the Land of Babylon, where he prophecies, that the Land of Babylon will be devastated and desolated for a period of two ages which is for around 2,000 years, in Jeremiah 50:1-40.

Then in Revelations 16:17-21, it speaks that during the period of great turmoil in the world during the 20 century, that Babylon will be remembered once more for the outpouring of God’s Wrath, on Babylon, and historically this occurred in 1926 when the nation of Iraq was established over what had previously been the land of the Chaldeans, i.e. Babylon.

What this tells us that around 100-120 BC the Grecian empire that had domination over the Land of Babylon at that time, pulled all of the utilities apart and gathered all of the people in the land of Babylon and shipped them and the stripped utilities out of Babylon to another part of their portion of the Greek Empire. This indicates that the Roman empire had no dominion over the land of Babylon at any time and when Roman tried to enter the land of Babylon, they found that it had no people nor could the land support them and they return once more homewards bound.

Now Jeremiah 50:1-40 confirms for us that there is an approximate gap of around 2,000 years between the third segment, Greece, and the fourth segment which today is known as the nation of Iraq.

Then Jeremiah 50:41-51:48 speaks of a king of the north and many kings going up against Babylon/Iraq and gaining dominion over the land but their intention was to heal the land and they fell away and then God sort out the Medes to begin the destruction of Babylon which is what is happening at this present time.

So, the fifth segment that has/had dominion over the land of Babylon for a time is the Coalition of the Willing lead by the USA and its President, i.e. king. The punishment for these nations of the coalition of the Willing for healing the land instead of bringing destruction to the land of Babylon is the over running of these nations with many men and these men will raise a shout of victory over the nations of the Coalition of the Willing.

So, our understanding of the five nations that has/had dominion over the land of Babylon is, 1. Babylon, 2. The Medes and the Persians, 3. The Greek Empire, 3a. A period of around 2,000 years where Babylon laid devastated and desolated, 4. Iraq and 5. The Coalition of the Willing lead by the USA.

He the Daniel 2 Statue prophecy ends with the statement that during the time of these kings, God will establish His everlasting Kingdom.

To be continued: -

Shalom

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No one can unite it back to the Roman Empire or the even bring it to what was 'Holy Roman Empire'. The nations still seem themselves as the individual tribes, even Barcelona is looking to pull away from Spain..

Jay Ross said:

Continuing from Post #13 above.

The claim was made by @Hobie, that the fourth beast in Daniel 7 was the Roman Empire, because it had dominion of the land of Israel. However, this is not what that chapter describes.

The primary beasts in Daniel 7 are the four winds of heaven, i.e. wicked fallen heavenly hosts, that are stirring up the seas out of which manifests a resemblance of the respective individual winds that are the four winds of heaven. Yes, we can identify the people groups that have manifested the respective “beasts” and their dominate characteristic over the centuries where many people groups have ebbed and flowed into and out of the respective dominions of the four winds of heaven.

The third beast has four heads, and when it manifested itself in the se of humanity after the death of Alexandra the Great, his empire was divided up into four manifested beasts. It is my view that the Roman Empire came out of one the four manifested beasts.

When we look at history since the time of Alexandra the Great, we can see other people groups and nations that have exercised dominion over other people groups and kingdoms. The list would include, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, the USA, Australia just to list a few who have exercised dominion over other nations and people groups.

It is my view that the four the manifested “beast” would be found in the people who have embraced Islam whose main characteristic is to speak out great things against God.

The question that must be now answered is when are the winds of heaven, the beasts that have cause themselves to be manifested within people groups, kingdoms and empires to be judged? Isaiah 24:21-22 tells us when this will occur.

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Shalom

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It is more than just a claim, it is what Bible Scholars agree on and if you look the Reformation held. Now the inevitable conclusion of those know their history and who studied these prophesies in scripture, before and during the Protestant Reformation, was that there was only one entity that fit all the above characteristics of what came out of the Roman Empire, the papal dynasty of the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church was so violently opposed to the scriptures being available for everyone to read for themselves, and banned anyone having Bibles and burned any books that pointed out who was the Antichrist. There was such a challenge by the Reformation that the church resorted to strictly forbidding anyone to publish a book without prior censorship, and also prohibited anyone from preaching on the subject of antichrist:

SESSION 10, 4 May 1515, On censorship of books:

... "some printers have the boldness to print and sell to the public, in different parts of the world, books — some translated into Latin from Greek, Hebrew, Arabic and Chaldean as well as some issued directly in Latin or a vernacular language — containing errors opposed to the faith as well as pernicious views contrary to the Christian religion and to the reputation of prominent persons of rank. The readers are not edified. Indeed, they lapse into very great errors not only in the realm of faith but also in that of life and morals. This has often given rise to various scandals, as experience has taught, and there is daily the fear that even greater scandals are developing." ...

... "We therefore establish and ordain that henceforth, for all future time, no one may dare to print or have printed any book or other writing of whatever kind in Rome or in any other cities and dioceses, without the book or writings having first been closely examined, at Rome by our vicar and the master of the sacred palace, in other cities and dioceses by the bishop or some other person who knows about the printing of books and writings of this kind and who has been delegated to this office by the bishop in question, and also by the inquisitor of heresy for the city or diocese where the said printing is to take place, and unless the books or writings have been approved by a warrant signed in their own hand, which must be given, under pain of excommunication, freely and without delay."
"In addition to the printed books being seized and publicly burnt, payment of a hundred ducats to the fabric of the basilica of the prince of the apostles in Rome, without hope of relief, and suspension for a whole year from the possibility of engaging in printing, there is to be imposed upon anyone presuming to act otherwise the sentence of excommunication." ...

SESSION 11, 19 December 1516, On how to preach:

... "We command all who undertake this task of preaching, or will later undertake it, to preach and expound the gospel truth and holy scripture in accordance with the exposition, interpretation and commentaries that the church or long use has approved and has accepted for teaching until now, and will accept in the future, without any addition contrary to its true meaning or in conflict with it. They are always to insist on the meanings which are in harmony with the words of sacred scripture and with the interpretations, properly and wisely understood, of the doctors mentioned above. They are in no way to presume to preach or declare a fixed time for future evils, the coming of antichrist or the precise day of judgment; for Truth says, it is not for us to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. Let it be known that those who have hitherto dared to declare such things are liars, and that because of them not a little authority has been taken away from those who preach the truth." ...

But the Catholic Church eventually came to the conclusion that it would not be able to ban or burn all the Bibles, heretical books, and heretics that possessed or preached from them. This oppressive and crude tactic merely confirmed their identification as the harlot persecuting church of prophecy. A new and more subtle approach was needed in order to effectively counter the application of apocalyptic prophecy to the Catholic Church.

One major identifying characteristic the Catholic Church needed to deal with was the time period of 1260 years that the antichrist power was to rule, according to Protestantism's Historicist interpretation. There simply is only one entity on earth that has ruled for this length of time after the fall of pagan Rome, and that is the Roman Catholic Church

Now as to the 1260 years here are some reading from Catholic writers...

"And now that the temporal power of the Roman Pontiffs belongs to the past, that the head of the Church must under heaven depend for its maintenance upon the generosity of his spiritual children throughout the world, that a usurper holds the throne from which the Pope ruled for a thousand years, while its rightful owner is a prisoner in his own city, it will be of interest from many points of view to review what Roman people and Rome were like before 1870 and what they are to-day.

Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western emperors was left to the mercy of barbarous hordes, Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection and asked him to rule them; and thus in this simple manner, the best title of all to kingly right, commenced the temporal sovereignty of the Popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the Vicar of Christ took up the sceptre to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages, from sentiments of respect for the dignity of his office and because he was the only mediator whom they recognized in their almost interminable wars."(Two Romes, by James P. Conry, in The American Catholic Quarterly Review, Volume XXXVI, pg 193,194)

"... the right to her Temporal Sovereignty is an integral right of the Church as constituted by her Divine Founder. It has prevailed de facto for more than twelve hundred years, and has been possessed de jure by Divine Natural Law from the beginning of Christianity, ..."
(The Victories of Rome and the Temporal Monarchy of the Church, 5th edition, By Kenelm Digby Best, London, 1906, pg. xii.)

Now here they are a bit more direct...

"... In books of all sizes, and from the pulpit of every church, we have been taught from our infancy, that the "beast, the man of sin, and the scarlet whore," mentioned in the Revelations, were names which God himself had given to the Pope; and we have all been taught to believe of the Catholic Church, that her worship was "idolatrous," and that her doctrines were "damnable."

10. Now let us put a plain question or two to ourselves, and to these our readers; and we shall quickly be able to form a just estimate of the modesty, sincerity, and consistency of these revilers of the Catholic religion: ―they will not, because they cannot, deny, that this religion was the ONLY CHRISTIAN religion in the world for fifteen hundred years after the death of Christ. They may say, indeed, that for the first three hundred years there was no Pope seated at Rome. But, then, for twelve hundred years there had been; and, during that period, all the nations of Europe, and some part of America, had become Christian, and all acknowledged the Pope as their head in religious matters; and, in short, there was no other Christian Church known in the world, nor had any other ever been thought of. Can we believe, then, that Christ, who died to save sinners, who sent forth his gospel as the means of their salvation, would have suffered a false Christian religion, and no other than a false Christian religion, to be known amongst men all this while? Will these modest assailants of the faith of their and our ancestors assert to our faces, that, for twelve hundred years at least, there were no true Christians in the world? Will they tell us, that Christ, who promised to be with the teachers of his word to the end of the world, wholly left them, and gave up hundreds upon hundreds of millions of people to be led in darkness to their eternal perdition, by one whom his inspired followers had denominated the "man of sin, and the scarlet whore"? Will they, indeed, dare to tell us, that Christ gave up the world wholly to "Antichrist" for twelve hundred years?
(History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland, Showing How That Event Has Impoverished and Degraded the Main Body of the People in Those Countries, by William Cobbett, published in 1832 in New York by John Doyle, 12 Liberty-street; and Thomas Doyle, Market-street, Providence R.I., pages 6 and 7)

Davy said:

The 'woman' as a symbol is given in different contexts throughout God's Word. Sometimes God applied it to men who were weak-minded in leading Israel, like with the case of having to setup women judges over Israel, and sometimes it was used as a symbol for Jerusalem as a harlot when in rebellion (Ezekiel 16), and sometimes as Israel (first part of Rev.12), and sometimes as Christ's Church (latter part of Rev.12). Even the leaders of old Israel God sometimes called 'the daughters of Israel' (Isaiah 3:12-17).



The end of Revelation 17:18 tells us the "woman" in that chapter is a "great city". This links with Ezekiel 16 about Jerusalem, not with Christ's Church.

Christ's Church is not a "great city"...

Rev 17:18
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
KJV

That 'woman' is Jerusalem for the end, which is where the coming Antichrist (the dragon) is to reign from over all... nations, for 42 months, as written in Revelation 13.

But what you have written instead, leaves... God's Word, and instead inserts an old Jews' doctrine of men that the Antichrist is the pope and involves Rome. That idea wasn't proven by the Reformation though they believed it too, nor is it true today. It's just an idea instituted by Jews upon those blinded in the Church who bought it, just so the Jews could keep focus away from Jerusalem for the end.

Jerusalem today is still... where the orthodox Jews plan to build their temple again and start old covenant sacrifices again. This the coming Antichrist is to allow per the Book of Daniel, and then he will end those sacrifices and instead place the abomination that maketh desolate, and demand all to bow in worship to him instead. This is the false one to come that Jesus warned His about in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, and that Apostle Paul warned the Church about in 2 Thessalonians 2.

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Jerusalem was basically not much after the Romans tore it down in 70 AD, it did not have power of the beast, much less the state of Israel.

Its from Rome, here is a explanation...

"When Constantine moved his capital to Constantinople (330 AD), the Pope inherited the power, prestige, and even titles of the Roman emperors. The most significant of such titles is Pontifex Maximus, a pagan title that means “Bridge builder between heaven and Earth.”

After Constantine, his son Constantius came into power. In an effort to unite the various factions of the Church, he forced anti-Nicene doctrines on the Church, saying "Whatever I will shall be regarded as canon."iiConstantius also tried to eliminate some pagan practices from his empire. In 356 AD, he decreed the closure of all pagan temples; however, the decree did not stop the rituals from continuing in Rome.

Constantius' cousin Julian became the next emperor. A pagan, he tried to revert the empire to its pre-Christian pagan practices and the worship of Helios and Mithra. Following the reign of Julian was an era of emperors who practiced some form of Christianity—but remained mostly tolerant to the heresies and twisted doctrine that prevailed in their empire.

In 538 AD, the emperor Justinian issued a decree, proclaiming the Pope to be supreme in religious matters. Since then, the Pope has assumed the garb of representative of Jesus Christ on Earth.

Throughout the mid-first millennium, elements of Pagan Rome were further incorporated into Papal Rome through symbols, rituals, and ceremonies. For example, the Roman clergy wear the same vestments of the priests of Dagon, the fish-god. The fish-head mitre, worn by bishops and popes is also the same as the ancient mitre used by the priesthood of Babylon.

The keys of the pagan god figures have also become a symbol of the Papacy, Christianized into “the keys of Peter.”....Papal Rome takes Pagan Rome's Power | The Papacy and the Roman Empire