Heads, Horns, Hills, Kings, and Kingdoms (Rev 17:9-13)

Seven Heads and Seven Kings (Rev 17:9-11)

In further explanation of the Great Whore of false religion from Revelation 17, John's angelic guide states that the seven heads of the scarlet colored beast in Revelation 17:3 is dualistic. That is, the seven heads also represent the seven hills of Rome upon which the woman sits. This imagery means that the ancient Roman Empire supported the woman of false religion. However, the seven heads further represent "seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come." (Rev 17:10) As of John's vision in 96 AD, the five fallen kings‒representing kingdoms‒are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. The Roman Empire is the sixth kingdom that is, which John saw as the First Beast in Revelation 13:1-10, and which Daniel also described as a terrible and dreadful fourth beast in Daniel 7:8.

Modern Babylon is the seventh and other kingdom yet to come. This kingdom emerged in the early 1800s when the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth. Modern Babylon is also the Second Beast described by John in Revelation 13:11-18, and the little horn described by Daniel in Daniel 7:8. The seventh kingdom "must continue a short space" (Rev 17:10) between 1830 and the Second Coming when Modern Babylon will fall.

In Revelation 17:11, the beast also represents an eighth kingdom of Satan that will arise during the "little season" after the millennium. (Rev 20:3) At that time, the battle of Gog and Magog will be fought as both a spiritual and physical battle. (Rev 20:8) Satan and his unembodied spirit sons of perdition will be defeated and cast into perdition by Michael and his heavenly host at the end of the earth. (Rev 20:10)

Ten Horns and Ten Kings (Rev 17:12-13)

The scarlet colored beast with seven heads also had ten horns. Revelation 17:12 states that these ten horns of power also represent "ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast." We've seen the same ten horns before on the seventh head of the First Beast in Revelation 13:1 and on Daniel's dreadful beast in Daniel 7:7. In each vision, the ten horns represent power. They are ten in number to symbolize that they are one part of the whole power of Satan's seventh kingdom in these last days.

Revelation 17:12 indicates that the ten horns also represent ten kings or kingdoms in the modern era since the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in the early 1800s. Obviously, when John received his vision in 96 AD, these ten kings had received no kingdom as yet, but these kings and their evolving kingdoms now exist in our day. The evolving nature of the geo-political boundaries of the ten kings and their kingdoms are reflected in the symbolism of their receiving power as kings "one hour" with the Second Beast (Rev 13:11-18). This means that modern nations come and go in their time and season as each receives the corrupting power of the beast. This corrupting power leads the leaders of nations and ungodly institutions to commit great wickedness in Modern Babylon.

The modern nations have one mind with the Beast in Revelation 17:13, which means they share the same goal of fostering evil in the last days. As modern nations become increasingly corrupt and more powerful, they give back power to the Great Whore of false religion which then becomes even more powerful to fight against the Lamb of God as we approach the Second Coming. For more on the meaning of these heads, horns, hills, kings, and kingdoms, check out my podcasts from July 5 and 7, 2026.

July 5, 2026 — Podcast

July 7, 2026 — Podcast