Who or what is the Eighth Beast Kingdom (Rev. 17:11) when the Antichrist is revealed?

IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

The Eighth Beast Kingdom

In last Tuesday’s post we looked briefly at the beast (the Antichrist) that carries the great harlot as recorded in Revelation 17:8-18. The beast has seven heads representing seven mountains which are seven kings (kingdoms). The first six were easy to identify, and I made an educated guess that Turkey may very well be the seventh beast empire for the reasons given. This seventh empire did not exist is John’s day when he wrote the book of Revelation. If Turkey is, indeed, correct, then we are possibly close to the eighth which we find in Rev. 17:11. While this verse is rendered differently in the various translations, I believe the one that best represents the original Greek wording is the New King James which reads:

And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth
and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.

We know that the beast (Antichrist) is someone who once lived and has been in the abyss (hell) and will be allowed to come up to earth for a season before he is sent back to hell and ultimately, the Lake of Fire. While he (the Antichrist) is on earth, he will somehow also be an eighth kingdom while being of the seven other kingdoms. Some translations say “one of the seven” but that’s not what the Greek says or implies. Remember, the image is of a beast (Antichrist) with seven heads. If the eighth was one of the seven, you would think the beast would have only one head, and the beast and this head would somehow have to be identical since verse 11 says the beast is the eighth. This doesn’t make sense.

If the eighth represents an eighth king/kingdom combination which is of the seven, the most reasonable conclusion seems to be that the Antichrist will be a king over an amalgamation of the previous seven. Imagine, if you can, what that would be like. All the previous seven empires would somehow be revived and would come together under the leadership of the Antichrist. We’re talking about the wicked and power-hungry kingdoms of ancient Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome being combined with Turkey, representing the power and territory of the former Ottoman Empire.

I can imagine that during the first half of the seven-year Tribulation, this new world power would, through deception, move and expand unhindered throughout the world. But when the Antichrist turns against Israel in after the first 3-1/2 years, this multi-headed, blood-thirsty, power-hungry, Israel-hating Beast Empire will come after Israel with unprecedented vengeance. Those Gentiles who have responded to the gospel message will also be in the Beast’s crosshairs.

AS I SEE IT

Keep in mind that everything I’ve written regarding the Beast Empires is conjecture. I could be wrong. Things are changing so fast that I could change my mind. But assuming I’m right, I don’t see this eighth Beast Empire suddenly coming to life in some miraculous way. I believe the rebirth of the first six kingdoms has been happening for quite some time, but with some major developments taking place today right under our noses. Turkey, under President Erdoğan, has been expanding its influence (and territory) throughout the Middle East in the past few years with little opposition. Iran and China are both bad actors to say the least, but with the recent agreement between the two, things just got worse. Russia has ties to Syria and Turkey, and the jury is still out when it comes to the alliances born out of the Abraham Accords.

My point is that as we see alliances being formed, we may be witnessing the “coming together” of the seven beast kingdoms. We’re getting close to the end of life as we know it.  It’s time to get serious about what we claim to believe. Exciting days lie ahead. Are you ready?

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