The difference between visions and explanations helps us solve one of the most vexing problems in the whole book of Revelation. Who are the seven kings of Rev. 17:10? They are clearly sequential, but where do they begin and when is the “one is” of the angel’s description? It is a power in John’s day, one at the very end of time, or is it somewhere in the course of history? Various Seventh-day Adventist scholars have drawn each of these three conclusions.
One popular option among non-scholars is to see the seven kings as seven consecutive popes, usually beginning with the year 1929, when Mussolini restored Vatican City to the sovereignty of the Roman Catholic Church, and the very last pope of earth’s history. This view has frequently suggested that a current pope is either the last or the next to last. So this view has led people into date-setting and is now stretched to the limit as pope after pope continues.
A second view is quite popular among SDA scholars. It suggests that the time of the sixth king (the “one is” of 17:10) is the time from 1798 to 1929, when the papacy had no temporal power. The five fallen kings would then be Babylon Persia, Greece, Rome, and the medieval papacy. The one that is would be the time when the church has no temporal power. The seven kings would be the situation today, the restored Vatican power. This view fits well with the overall Adventist view of the end-time.
But seeing this text as part of an explanation rather than a vision would rule out both options if applied here. The passage about the seven kings is not in the vision (Rev. 17:3-6), it is in the explanation of the vision (17:7-18). In order to make sense to John the explanation needs to be from his standpoint in history. So the “one is” king would have to be present at the time when John himself received the vision in order to make sense. If the “one is” kingdom is the pagan Rome of John’s day, the five who are “fallen” would be the five super powers of the Old Testament world; Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Greece. The seventh “king” would be the medieval papacy and the “eighth” (Rev. 17:11) king, who is one of the seven, would be the revived Babylon of chapter 17, an entity that in its fullness is still in our future.
Thank you. You just settled my mind. I worry a great deal about trying to make this prophecy onto the papacy. For a start it is too simplistic and tempting to accept without question. Secondly it is sensational. Thirdly it leads to time setting which is dangerous. Finally I worry about prophetic interpretations that fail to revive my spiritual life. Technically sound interpretations have a tendency to give satisfactory and logical explanations that ignore spiritual revival. God has given us prophecy partly in order to change us and our way of thinking. How is the sin problem being addressed in this prophecy?
Not every part of SCripture must have a spiritual benefit, some parts are history, other parts geneological. they serve a different purpose. But I would encourage most to spend the marjority of their time on the parts of Scripture that are the most clear and that have strong spiritual benefit.
I agree with your final assessment, with exception of the “one is” as being only pagan Rome. There are 7 heads on the dragon, the hybrid beast of Rev 13 and the scarlet beast of Rev 17. They represent the same powers that Satan has worked through since Israel was a nation, beginning with Egypt. The 6th is Rome(pagan and papal), as in the iron legs of Daniel 2(which must be our foundation for interpretation), and the 7th will be the feet of iron and clay, led by the false trinity and their enforcement of the mark of the beast(see Rev 17:12-14). The 8th “was, is not, and shall ascend/go into perdition”. This 8th is Satan who works behind the world powers and supports the harlot Babylon the great. He alone ascends from the bottomless pit since he alone is cast into it.
He will lead the wicked against the city of God as the visible head of the hosts in rebellion, and will then be revealed as the one who destroyed the earth(Isa 14:16,17). Then all the lost will turn on Satan and his angels for the last struggle of the wicked before they are consumed, root and branches when all will be “cast into the lake of fire”.
I find this perspective interesting and worthy of further investigation. I will keep it handy for future reference.
I just love everything you say – and most especially, how you say it. Thanks for your comment. I will be pondering and praying about this for some time, i reckon.
Why did the SDA pioneer perspective (Smith, Haskel, Jones, Wagoner) on seven heads/kingsin Rev. 17 has been reinturpreted and replaced with eithers starting with Egypt or Babylon? Uriah Smith makes the strongest case in my opinion so far. The biggest misunderstanding is in who the actual beast the harlot riding is. Acording to Rev.12 the dragon who standas before the woman is pagan Rome. Rev. 12:9 tells us that Satan in the dragon but the chief agent thrue which Satan tried to kill baby Jesus was that of pagan Rome. Also, in ch. 13 we see the transition from pagan to papal Rome where it says that “the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Rev. 13:2.
In the book The Great Controversy, EGW confirms this:
…What is represented by the beast, the image, the mark? – GC 438.1
The line of prophecy in which these symbols are found begins with Revelation 12, with the dragon that sought to destroy Christ at His birth. The dragon is said to be Satan (Revelation 12:9); he it was that moved upon Herod to put the Saviour to death. But the chief agent of Satan in making war upon Christ and His people during the first centuries of the Christian Era was the Roman Empire, in which paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus while the dragon, primarily, represents Satan, it is, in a secondary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome. – GC 438.2
In chapter 13 (verses 1-10) is described another beast, “like unto a leopard,” to which the dragon gave “his power, and his seat, and great authority.” This symbol, as most Protestants have believed, represents the papacy, which succeeded to the power and seat and authority once held by the ancient Roman empire. … GC 439.1
In the sixth century the papacy had become firmly established. Its seat of power was fixed in the imperial city, and the bishop of Rome was declared to be the head over the entire church. Paganism had given place to the papacy. The dragon had given to the beast “his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Revelation 13:2. And now began the 1260 years of papal oppression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5-7. GC 54.2
If the beast the harlot is riding upon is Roman, than the seven heads must also be Roman. The only other multi-headed beast mentioned in the Bible is the leopard with four heads and four wings in Dan. 7 which represents one kingdom, that of Greece. The kingdom was divided into four so each head represents a division but it was still part of Greece. Later on it reduced from four to two but the symbol is retained so that we can be able to more easily identify it.
We see in the book of Daniel that prophetic visions begin with the kingdom then in power. During the dream of the statue in ch. 2, Daniel was living in Babylon. Hence the interpretation starts with the head of gold (Dan. 2:38). In the vision of the four beasts in Daniel 7, the introduction of the chapter informs us of time when Daniel had the vision:
Daniel 7:1 (KJV) 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.
Since the time was that of Babylon still, the vision begins with a lion with wings which like ch. 2 represents Babylon. In Daniel 8, the prophetic vision begins with the ram which the angel explains represents Medo-Persia:
Daniel 8:20 (KJV) The ram which thou sawest having [two] horns [are] the kings of Media and Persia.
The chapter begins by letting us know that the time was when Babylon was about to be replaced by Medo-Persia (Third year of Belshazzar) hence Babylon is dropped out of the vision.
Daniel ch. 9 informs us that the time is that of “the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus” hence the explanation of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 begins with the decree of Artaxerxes in 457 b. c. who was the king of Persia.
Finally in ch. 11-12 we see the last vision which was given in the time of Darius the Mede. Hence the vision begins with the Medo-Persian empire. Babylon is not mention anymore since ch. 7 because it passed away.
What does all this have to do with Rev. 17? It appears to be the case that prophetic visions begin with time in which the prophet was living and do not go backwards in time unless there is clear interlude like in Rev. 12 where there is mention of the beginning of the great controversy in heaven between the dragon and Michael or Satan and Christ. Unless it is clearly indicated we should be looking for interpretation of symbols which have to do with the kingdom(s) during which the prophet who was given the vision begins.
Since seven-headed dragon of Rev. 12 is in the secondat sense pagan Rome and in Rev. 13 the beast out of the sea papal Rome, why would the seven heads of the beast of Rev. 17 be going back to Egypt or Babylon. The harlot who šeste on this beast which is papal church never rulled over ancient Egypt or Babylon. The proohetc line begins with Rome and it doesn’t go backward in time but rather forward. The sea beast of Rev. 13 has the elements of other kingdoms because they were incorporated into its dogmas and methods.
From Uriah’s paper (link at the end):
“One of the earliest Protestant commentators, Osiander, as early as 1511, names the whole seven as we have them; namely, Kings, Consuls, Decemvirs, Dictators, Triumvirs, Emperors, and Popes, as the forms of Roman government represented by the seven heads of the dragon of Revelation 12, and the seven-headed beasts of Revelation 13 and Revelation 17. Adventists, under the first message, at once adopted this view.”
Whit this in mind, I recommend reading Uriah Smith’s article entitled: The Seven Heads of Revelation 12, 13, and 17
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/1411.2#0
Alexander,
Thanks for taking your time to share your view, which is well-argued in my opinion. I differ with that view primarily from the indication in the text that the sixth head is contemporary with the time of John (Rev 17:10). That means that the first five were already in the past when the angel comes to explain things to John. The five great super-powers of the OT (preceding Rome) are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Greece. For what it is worth.