Interpreting the Seven Kings of Revelation 17 by the criteria in the divinely given interpretation.
(v. 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.
First of all verse ten, the Angel time dates the 6th king (or power) as contemporary with John, that is the present Roman Empire. Verse 11 identifies these kings (from the Greek βασιλεύς)[1] as beasts. Therefore we must look in the scripture for our enumerated beast powers.
So as some believe Pagan Rome to be the 6th, and Papal Rome to be the 7th, this cannot be for several reasons:
1. Papal Rome is not a separate beast; and,
2. Papal Rome does not merely continue a short space, but in reality far exceeds the space of Pagan Rome.
Therefore the 6th king/beast is both, Rome Pagan and Papal. The 7th had not yet come. There is only one additional beast that shows up in the Revelation: and that is the Second or Earth Beast of chapter 13. Continue reading Interpreting the Seven Kings of Revelaton 17 →