Who are they and what is the significance of this prophecy to the end times?

I came across a study which had some interesting points in a Adventist forum, and when I went into it deeper, I found a lot of discussion and some applications in Adventist circles about it, to say nothing of others. https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/sites/default/files/pdf/Release%201%20%283-1-16%29.pdf

Some commentators feel its the form of goverment which counts Uraih Smith among its numbers, but others feel its still the historical line of the nations as in Daniel.

Here is one interpretation...

"We see 5 beasts listed in these verses. Now consider carefully the 5 that are fallen. leopard beast bear lion dragon
1.Lion = Babylon
2.Bear = Medo Persia
3.Leopard = Grecia
4.Red Dragon 10 horns 7 crowns = Pagan Rome before 538 AD.
5.Conglomerate beast of Revelation 13, has all characteristics of the above listed beasts. And is given its power by the red dragon. (Rev 13:2). Therefore this is the 5th kingdom. And it reigns for 1260 days until the crowns are taken. It has 10 crowns until it falls.

At which point the deadly wound occurs. The power is taken from this 5th Kingdom which ruled the world for 1260 years during the dark ages......The rule of the Papacy ended in 1798 exactly 1260 years after the destruction of the Ostrogoths and the implementation of the Justinian decree in 538AD. Pope Pius vi was taken captive by General Berthier of France. The destruction of the Papacy was thought to be sure when there were more than 1000 priests murdered at that day. This is well known as the deadly wound to the Papacy which is mentioned in Revelation 13.

At the time of the Pope going into captivity we see another beast rising out of the earth. beasttwo horns

Revelation 13:10-12 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
(11) And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
(12) And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
?In 1798 General Berthier made his entrance into Rome, abolished the papal government, and established a secular one.? -Encyclopedia Britannica 1941 edition

Right around the time that the Pope Pius was taken captive, we see another beast coming up out of the earth with 2 horns. No crowns on these horns. This beast was representative of America....So the time when 5 are fallen is therefore when there is no monarchy or one world Kingdom reigning the earth as in the past.

1. Lion ? Babylon
2. Bear ? Medo Persia
3. Leopard ? Greece
4. Dragon ? Pagan Rome
5. Diverse Beast ? Papal Rome Got power from Dragon(Rev 13″2)

?One is??.

6. America?Second Beast?Not a monarchy?No Crowns

?The other is not yet come??

7. 10 Horns?These have one mind?Uni?United Nations. Reign for 1 hour as a Kingdom. They have yet to receive the monarchy and ruled as Kings at this point in time. The head being the woman or Papacy, and they are given power apostate Protestant America.

And the 8th which is of the 7 is the beast which was, is not and is.

Protestant America is the 6th. It begins to speak like a dragon, and finally gives its power to the Papacy.
"https://thethirdangelsmessage.com/the-7-kings-of-revelation-17-correcting-the-misinterpretation

This tended to agree with the study I had come across on one of the Adventist forums which had the following...

"Rev 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.

Let us establish what it means by this bottomless pit.

G12
ἄβυσσος
abussos
ab'-us-sos
From G1 (as a negative particle) and a variation of G1037; depthless, that is, (specifically), (infernal) ?abyss?: - deep, (bottomless) pit.

The Greek word used here refers to an abyss, and in the book of beginnings in Genesis 1:2, we see that Moses refers to the earth being an Abyss when it was dark and void of any light.

This word is used seven times in Revelation, 5 times referring to an opposing religion, the 6th and 7th to Satan himself. Seeing as God's word is referred to as light, this bottomless pit is referring to the darkness this entity comes out of, because it bears no light.

So which Beast did we just see? We saw the Papacy after 1798, ?which was? when it ruled from 538-1798 AD.

She ?is not? because now she has received her deadly wound and is only a Woman with no power to persecute as of yet.

And ?yet is,? as she is secretly working behind the scenes, deceiving the world into accepting her.

When the U.S (The False Prophet), followed by the World enforces the Sunday Law, the Papacy will have conquered the world spiritually, the deadly wound will be healed, She will ascend out of darkness, and will go into perdition.

Rev 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

Many like to say that these seven mountains are the seven hills that the Vatican sits upon, and yes it is true the Vatican does sit upon seven hills, which are a counterfeit of the true.

Mount Zion was just before us, and on the mount was a glorious temple, and about it were seven other mountains, on which grew roses and lilies. And I saw the little ones climb, or, if they chose, use their little wings and fly to the top of the mountains, and pluck the never-fading flowers. {CET 63}

But these are not what the Bible is referring to.

Isa 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

We are told that the mountain here is referring to a kingdom.

Isa 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.

And that Holy Mountain is Jerusalem

Psa 48:2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

It is also called Mount Zion, the City of King Jesus, Jerusalem.

Isa 51:16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

We also notice that this City or mountain represents God's people.

So a mountain in the Bible, effectively is a nation of people, with a King ruling over it.

This is confirmed in the next verse where we seven kings.

Rev 17:10 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.

We also see the dragons seven heads with seven crowns on top.

Rev 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.
So who are the five that are fallen?

When we study Rev 13, we see the Papacy is this Beast that comes out of the Sea? This is a make up of the five that are fallen:

1. Lions Head = Babylon (Self Exaltation)

2. Feet of the Bear = Medo Persia (A foundation built upon cruelty, and laws that do not change)

3. Body of a Leopard = Greece (Philosophy , or our education system)

4. Dragon Beast = Pagan Rome (Servitude)

5. The Papacy (Beast out of the Sea) that has the makeup of all of these characteristics, that came after Pagan Rome (Rev 13:1,2)

6. The one is = The USA (The Beast out of the Earth) (Apostate Protestantism) was recognised in 1798 as a world power, just as the Papacy, was receiving it's deadly wound.

7. The other is not yet come ??

Let us look now and see who this 7th Kingdom is.

If we go to Revelation 16 we will find a clue to the identity of this power.

Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

God is a God of order, let us look at that order, it will inform us who kingdom n 7 is.

The Bible confirms this theory.
Eze 29:3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.

Egypt, a symbol of the world, represents the world rulers (The Dragon) at the end of time.

Rev 17:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet;(Singular) but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Rev 17:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Rev 17:14 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.

Dan 2:42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom (Singular) shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
Dan 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

We can also see this confederacy of ten elsewhere in scriptures depicting the death decree made by the world.

Psa 83:1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
Psa 83:2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
Psa 83:3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
Psa 83:4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
Psa 83:5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
Psa 83:6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
Psa 83:7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
Psa 83:8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Sela

The Children of Lot are Ammon and Moab and have already been mentioned.

Again the ten kings are symbolized in the book of Esther with Haman and his 10 sons.

The decree which is to go forth against the people of God will be very similar to that issued by Ahasuerus against the Jews in the time of Esther. The Persian edict sprang from the malice of Haman toward Mordecai. Not that Mordecai had done him harm, but he had refused to show him reverence which belongs only to God. The king's decision against the Jews was secured under false pretenses through misrepresentation of that peculiar people. Satan instigated the scheme in order to rid the earth of those who preserved the knowledge of the true God. But his plots were defeated by a counterpower that reigns among the children of men. Angels that excel in strength were commissioned to protect the people of God, and the plots of their adversaries returned upon their own heads. The Protestant world today, see in the little company keeping the Sabbath a Mordecai in the gate. His character and conduct, expressing reverence for the law of God, are a constant rebuke to those who have cast off the fear of the Lord and are trampling upon His Sabbath; the unwelcome intruder must by some means be put out of the way. {5T 450.1}

Again, Jesus shows us the end from the beginning Isaiah 46:9, 10

If we go to Babel where it all started, we should find a type.

Gen 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
Gen 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
Gen 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Gen 10:11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
Gen 10:12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

Ten!!

Gen 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

Babylon is being rebuilt in the form of a New World Order.

One Religion
One Currency
One Language
One Government

Gen 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
Gen 11:5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
Gen 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

History is repeating itself!

The Kings of the Earth can only be represented by the UN for several reasons.

1. It is the only organization that represents the whole world.

2. It has already split the world into ten divisions on paper.

3. The Papacy is the only Religious Organization that has a seat in the UN.

4. The UN has a spiritualist meditation room within it's HQ, dedicated for prayer, based upon Hinduism, and is predominantly controlled by freemasonry (Spiritualism).

The 7th is the UN or in other words, the New World Order, represented by the 10 toes of Daniel 2, and Rev 17:12, a confederacy of 10 Nations that have no kingdom as yet.

Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

If we apply the same principle again, the next in line is the Beast (Papacy), which the Ten Kings (UN) (NWO) give their power and strength unto the Beast.

Rev 13:3 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....

Rev 17:12 ?one hour with the Beast.?

We will finish off with a quote from Sister White that confirms this 3 fold union.

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Revelation 16:13, 14. {Mar 190.1}
By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation [the United States] will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {Mar 190.2}
Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience. . . . {Mar 190.3}
Papists, Protestants, and worldling will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium. {Mar 190.4}..."


What are your thougnts?

This prophecy does not need to be made so difficult.
The first (sea-beast) in Rev 13 is the papacy.

the same beast in cited in Rev 17 and it explains that they are not kingdoms
17:10 "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."

The short space king was Benedict XVI. The 8th is not Francis,, he is not in this prophecy (he is in Rev 16)

The 8th is of the 7 (Pope John-Paul II)

Notice that Satan personates a HUMAN BEING (John-Paul II) before Satan personates Jesus.

As the second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ draws near, satanic agencies are moved from beneath. Satan will not only appear as a human being, but he will personate Jesus Christ; and the world who has rejected the truth will receive him as the Lord of lords and King of kings. He will exercise his power, and work upon the human imagination. He will corrupt both the minds and the bodies of men, and will work through the children of disobedience, fascinating and charming, as does a serpent. What a spectacle for God, the Creator of the world, to behold! The form Satan assumed in Eden when leading our first parents to transgress was of a character to bewilder and confuse the mind. He will work in as subtle a manner as we near the end of earth?s history. All his deceiving power will be brought to bear upon human subjects, to complete the work of deluding the human family. So deceptive will be his working, that men will do as they did in the days of Christ? Christ will be represented in the person of those who accept the truth, and who identify their interest with that of their Lord (RH, April 14, 1896 par. 6).

Here is Ministry Magazine on this issue...

"As the angel further explains to John from his time?s perspective, five of these kingdoms have fallen, one is, and the seventh one would appear sometime in the future. As previously explained, this cryptic text has generated numerous speculative interpretations, primarily due to the interpreters? failure to note that the meaning of these successive kingdoms was explained to John in the context of his own time?not ours. Nowhere in the text does it indicate that John was transported to another time; the angel simply explains to him what he had already seen previously in the vision.

Therefore, the key to decoding the meaning of these seven heads lies in the sixth kingdom, which is described as "is." This "is" refers to John's time. John lived in the time of the sixth head, the Roman Empire. The five that had fallen were thus the empires that ruled the world and caused harm to God's people prior to the time of John:
(1) Egypt was the world power that enslaved and oppressed Israel, seeking to destroy her;
(2) Assyria destroyed and scattered the ten tribes of Israel;
(3) Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and exiled Judah;
(4) Persia almost annihilated the Jews at the time of Esther;
(5) Greece oppressed and tried to destroy the Jews through Antiochus Epiphanes.

The seventh kingdom that "has not yet come" refers to the medieval papacy that, from John's time perspective, would be manifested in the future from John's time after the fall of the Roman Empire. The angel further explained that the scarlet beast itself is a part of the phase of the eighth head, the world power that is to come at the time of the end. Yet, it is one of the previously noted seven heads. Although this eighth head is one of the previous seven, it is considered a new power. Which of the seven? Most likely the seventh head, which previously experienced the deadly wound but comes back to life after its wound has healed.

This seventh power will reappear as the eighth head at the end of time and will exercise the same authority as it did during the Middle Ages. During the time of the eighth head, the scarlet beast carries the prostitute Babylon. We now live in the era of the seventh head, for the eighth head has not yet gained its power. However, it will appear on the world scene at the time of the end and will impose its rule on the inhabitants of the earth."
https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2013/12/the-seven-heads-of-the-beast-in-revelation-17

The Bible clearly states that they are kings.

17:10 "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."

To needlessly "reinterpret" the word of God and to assert that kings are kingdoms
without a need to make that application is a formula for misunderstanding.

His child, was Babylon prophesied as a king or kingdom in the image dream?

Here is from my friend Amo which makes it much more clear.."Rev 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 the number eight is the number of the resurrection. Also because in 1929 the Vatican became a literal nation state of this world and is therefore now uniquely qualified to be one of the seven, the fifth beast resurrected, and at the same time a new literal nation state of this world. The Church of Rome alone can fill this unique position.

Apart from this, when the national Sunday law is passed which the Church of Rome calls the eighth day according to the resurrection, her power will be fully resurrected once again as well. Sunday laws are what gave Babylon the great, the power of the state the first time she rode the fifth beast of biblical prophecy.

2191 The Church celebrates the day of Christ's Resurrection on the "eighth day," Sunday, which is rightly called the Lord's Day (cf. SC 106). 2192 "Sunday... is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church" (CIC, can. 1246 ? 1).

Catechism of the Catholic Church - The third commandment

www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a3.htm

In Daniel 2 Daniel said to King Nebuchadnezzar "You are the head of gold."
In Daniel 4 Daniel said to King Nebuchadnezzar "You are the tree."

The translators translated Daniel 2 to make the head of gold the kingdom and overlooked the king
The translators translated Daniel 4 to make the tree the king and overlooked his kingdom.

totally inconsistent translations.

In Daniel 2 and 4 King Nebuchadnezzar is symbolic of himself and his kingdom BOTH

At times a king and a kingdom can be interchanged in Bible prophecy.

But when Heaven is giving an interpretation and Heaven states in the interpretation that it is a king or a kingdom
Man is assuming too much upon himself (or herself if you are speaking of a woman bible scholar)
to change Heaven's interpretation to suit man's opinions

If man is interpreting a vision and believes that the king or kingdom is the symbol of the other that is one thing
But when Heaven gives the interpretation that is what it is

Well lets go though the prophecy and see what scripture has to help us. 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).