BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 22, Day 4: Revelation 17:7-14

Summary of Revelation 17:7-14

The angel explains to John what he saw: The beast will be destroyed. Unbelievers will be astonished. There are 7 kings, 5 have fallen, 1 is ruling now, and the other will rule for a little while in the future. The beast is the 8th king who will be destroyed.

There will be 10 kings who have not yet received a kingdom. They will come to power for 1 hour and will give their power to the beast. They will fight the Lamb but will lose.

BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 22, Day 4: Revelation 17:7-14

9a) The angel will explain to John the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides.

b) They came from the Abyss to destroy the Lamb and God’s people.

c) The Lamb/Jesus/God will win!

d) Immense. I know that God will win in the end despite all human evil and sin. I’m encouraged that Jesus will be the ultimate judge and will vindicate all believers.

10) In Revelation 17:8, the beast is described as, “The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction.” In Revelation 1:4, God is described as “who is, and who was, and who is to come.” Revelation 1:8 say, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 4:8 says, “…who was, and is, and is to come.”

The Lord is, was, and is to come. The beast was, is not, and yet will come up.” The Lord is omnipresent, always existing. He is present. The beast is spoken of in the past tense. He was and now is not existing and yet will come up only to be destroyed. God will live; the beast will die.

11a) The angel is about to give John clues to the future, so one must be wise to understand them. The wisdom comes from God.

b) I gain wisdom by praying, reading the Bible, meditating on God’s Word, and listening for God’s voice in my head. When I do this, the results are always positive. I walk in God’s ways and do His will. I make fewer mistakes. I learn from my mistakes.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 22, Day 4: Revelation 17:7-14

Great lesson on understanding that God is the Almighty who will be the last one standing at the End Times. Also, good to remember that wisdom is what we gain when we do seek God and His purpose for our lives.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 22, Day 4: Revelation 17:7-14

The beast here is connected with the beast of Revelation 13.

The 7 mountains are associated with Rome’s famous 7 hills. But the Greek word means mountains, not hills. Mountains can stand for governments in the Bible (Daniel 2:35)

Here, many Bible scholars agree that the 7 heads represent the 7 kings and kingdoms we see in Revelation 17:10.

The 7 kings with the 5 who have past, 1 who is present, and 1 to come is historically one of the most difficult passages in Revelation to interpret. Some see this as 5 old world kingdoms (Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia, and Greece) that no longer exist. The existing one would be Rome. The one to come would be Rome 2.0.

It is agreed that the 8th king is the Antichrist.

The 10 kings to come in verse 12 is hard to interpret, too. Remember Daniel saw a beast with 10 horns, too. Some see this number as literal or as symbolic. Some see it as a confederation like in Daniel 2:24-45 It is clear that these kings will join the Antichrist/Satan in the final battle.