Category Archives: Satan

Men, Angels and the Christ in Prophecy, Part 9 of 9

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The author of Hebrews concludes that the purpose of angels is to serve those who will inherit eternal life, Heb 1:14. Then he turns to the subject of men in chapter two. He quotes part of Psalm 8 by David about “man,” and “the world to come,” Heb 2:5.

“6 … “What is man, that you think of him?
Or the son of man, that you care for him?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels;
You crowned him with glory and honor.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” …”
Heb 2:6-8a WEB

This is man made in the very image of God, for now a little lower than the angels, and ordained for great things.

So mankind is SUPPOSED TO HAVE dominance
over ALL.

Then comes those things which we all run into in prophecy. Those things which seem odd or out of place. The author notes it appears nothing is left out of man’s control.

“… For in that he subjected all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. …”
Heb 2:8b WEB

Indeed this is the fabric of much of our lives here on earth. We work at this function or that function in managing this earth, and bringing to usefulness its many resources. Those functions may range from killing flies in the kitchen, to managing water resources, to making useful tools and machines for using these resources.

But then there is that part which just does not fit the facts.

“But now we don’t see all things subjected to him, yet.”
Heb 2:8c

Man does not yet have all of this power. There are things missing. There are holes in man’s dominance. We would like to have control of this or that, but, frustratingly, despite great progress in many arenas, much remains outside our control, just as Heb 2:8c says so clearly!

As my books note, such gaps between what is often prophesied, and what is seen in reality, is often the sign of symbolism in the prophecy, of a “type” or a “prototype”.

So man does not have the mastery he should have, yet.

“But we see him who has been made a little
lower than the angels, Jesus,

“because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone. ”
Heb 2:9 WEB

So Hebrews sees man’s dominance as always to be accomplished through Jesus! Through Jesus man recovers his position before God, and achieves his rightful position over creation. So it is not Satan and his angels, or even angels overall, who will dominate the world to come. It is man.

“Don’t you know that we will judge angels?” 1Cor 6:3.

Permanent punishment is prepared for those that oppose God, whether in heaven or in earth.

“Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;”
Mtt 25:14 WEB

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Men, Angels and the Christ in Prophecy, Part 8 of 9

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Satan was able to appear to Jesus in the flesh.

Compare the story in Matthew chapter four. Both knew who the other was. Satan has been granted considerable latitude in testing and trying to seduce men. He tries to get Jesus to worship him, and fails. He is “the ruler of this world” Jn 12:31. He is allowed to make great offers to Jesus.

“8 Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. 9 He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.””
Mtt 4:8-9 WEB

Yes, though constrained to this creation in our day, Satan has much power, but that is not all of the story.

Elisha was in a terrible bind in 2 Kings chapter 6.

The King of Aram has Elijah surrounded in the small town of Dothan. What the Hebrew text calls “Aram,” the KJV calls Syria (which it is today.) When Elisha’s servant arose the next day, look! The whole city was surrounded by horses and chariots. He asked Elisha, What shall we do?

Greater are those who are with us

“16 He answered, Don’t be afraid; for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 17 Elisha prayed, and said, Yahweh, Please open his eyes, that he may see. Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”
2Kfs 6:16 WEB

But it not just the number of men versus the number of angels, or even of good angels versus bad angels.

“What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Rom 8:31 WEB

We as Christians have the living God Himself living in us, if we stay with Him.

“Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”
1Cor 3:16 WEB

What good news it is to have Yahweh God Himself as our deliverer. Or as the apostle John put it,

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.”
1Jn 4:4 WEB

Or as the psalmist put it,

“Though he stumble, he shall not fall,
For Yahweh holds him up with his hand.”
Psa 37:24

What is it then that can overcome us?

“38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ”
Rom 8:38-39 WEB

Powerful enemies for us? Yes! But powerful supporters also.

and book of Revelation?

It is a series of parallel overlapping visions which show … many trials? Yes. And ultimate victory! Also yes!

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Men, Angels and the Christ in Prophecy, Part 7 of 9

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In the fall of man, the key conflicts of our age
have been set off.

The serpent of the old has successfully drawn mankind into conflict with the Lord our God. Now on one hand, Satan is described as the the god of this age.

“among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God.”
2Cor 4:4 New English Translation,

Here the New English Translation copyright 1995-2005 is more accurate in translating this as “age” (ai?n), but it is sometimes translated as “world.”

“Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.”
Jn 12:31 WEB

Here the regular word for world is used, kosmos. And Satan has enough power to deceive the whole world.

“The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. ”
Rev 12:9 WEB

“We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. ”
1Jn 5:19 WEB

So God ordained that there be opposition, hostility,
between the woman, and Satan.

““I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.””
Gen 3:15 WEB

Now it speaks of warfare between the seed/ offspring/
descendant, of Satan,

and the offspring of the woman. But the Hebrew word (zera) is here singular in both cases. The hostility is between the singular descendant/seed of woman, and the singular descendant/seed of the serpent.

As the fall came through the woman,

so also came the deliverer (Jesus the Christ, the singular seed of woman) through the woman (not through the man).

“4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law, 5 that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children.”
Gal 4:4-5 WEB

The word that is translated as “bruise” in the WEB and KJV in Gen 3:15 can also be translated as to snatch or grab or seize or a blow per the Hebrew Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Koehler and Bumgartner, 1994,2000. Surely the Bible in Basic English 1965, gives the sense of that last phrase in Gen 3:15 as well as any:

“by him will your head be crushed and by you his foot will be wounded.”

And the “seed”/offspring of Satan?

He still remains to be revealed in our own day, as it was with the Thessalonians (2Thes 2:6). He is what 2Thes 2:3 calls the “man of lawlessness,” and what Revelation calls “the beast.”

So Gen 3:15 is still in the process of being fulfilled.

KJV is the King James Version, 1611.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Men, Angels and the Christ in Prophecy, Part 6 of 9

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The proper function of angels is still observed by
MOST of the heavenly angels

Now angels in Scripture are called “sons of God” in Job chapters one and two, and are associated with “stars.” I am not trying here to explain that association, rather I am just trying show you that it is there. A clear example is,

“When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
Job 38:7 WEB

There is an account of the battle in heaven in Revelation 12 between good angels and bad angels. There is a “great red dragon” Rev 12:4, who is called the devil and Satan,” Rev 12:9. This “dragon” is able to draw one-third of the angels/stars of heaven into his revolt, Rev 12:4.

So it is that most of the angels of heaven
(a good two-thirds of them)

are still serving God. The purpose of angels is given in Hebrews 1.

“Aren’t they all ministering spirits, sent out to do service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”
Heb 1:14 WEB

This is clearly reflected the many verses and stories in Scripture. They are not, however, always seen by men. An angel helps Hagar in Genesis 16 in a very visible way. Angels arrived as men in Sodom in the beginning of Genesis 19 in order guide Lot to safety. Satan appeared as serpent to Eve, and angels appear as men when they meet Abraham in Genesis 18, and Abraham prepares a meal for them and they eat that meal. The author of Hebrews counsels us,

“Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Heb 13:2 WEB

Angels diligently look after the righteous.

“For he will give his angels charge over you,
To guard you in all your ways. ”
Psa 91:11

There is a special angel of the presence of the Lord that is mentioned in Scripture. This is a “messenger” who is intimately involved with Yahweh. (Some speculate that it is Jesus Himself, but if so, that is not clearly stated.)

“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bore them, and carried them all the days of old.”
Isa 63:9 WEB

They are mighty in power and can have astonishing results when they are instructed to do so.

“The angel of Yahweh went forth, and struck in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.”
Isa 37:36 WEB

Those who are inclined to abuse children
are warned by Jesus,

“See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”
Mtt 18:10 WEB

Knowledge of that should affect how men treat children, today, and always.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Men, Angels and the Christ in Prophecy, Part 5 of 9

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A Trans-Universe War between men and
evil spiritual powers.

Perhaps even before man was created, there began a great revolt against God’s rule and authority, a revolt that began in heaven itself. Was it really before the creation of man? We do not know for sure but it sure seems so. When man was created, and the woman made for the man, it seems that Satan, symbolically called that Great Serpent or the Devil was already there. Ready to seduce and ruin mankind as best he could.

“Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Yes, has God said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’””
Gen 3:1 WEB

You might say that our historic great grandmother bit! Then she got our original progenitor to bite. So we, all of mankind, joined that historic revolt again God Himself.

So it was that great curses fell on both
men and angels,
and men were altered at the DNA level.

Men began the processes of dying, and he lost access to the tree of life. This is not the place to discuss all the ramification of mankind’s fall, but some key points should be noted.

Satan was cursed, the woman was cursed, the man was cursed, and the creation was cursed, because of sin! Lastly, the stage was set for an age long war between mankind and the evil principalities and powers.

““I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.””
Gen 3:15 WEB

As Paul put it,

“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Eph 6:12 WEB

This ultimately leads to a war in heaven itself.

There are armies in heaven. Remember Part III, the hosts (armies) of heaven and the Lord of Hosts? Remember that in Job’s day Satan was still able to appear before the Yaweh in heaven. That evidently changed around the time of the cross.

“7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Rev 12:7-9 KJV

This war now continues in this created universe.

You and I as men have often served these
evil spiritual masters.

“However at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods.”
Gal 4:8 WEB

But Jesus has come to deliver us from these
Satanic powers which would destroy us,
Heb 2:14-15

KJV is the King James Version, 1611.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Men, Angels and the Christ in Prophecy, Part 4 of 9

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Angels are NOT robots. They are moral creatures
who can make moral decisions.

In this way they are like men. They, just like men, are made so that they are able to choose to NOT DO what they are supposed to do, or TO DO what they are not supposed to do. Also like us, angels are often allowed, beyond just choosing (within limits set by God), to do things which they should not. So it says of God,

“Behold, he puts no trust in his servants.
He charges his angels with error. ”
Job 4:18 WEB

So we saw in Part III “the prince of Persia” in Dan 10:13, and in that passage he is opposing the archangel Michael as he is trying to come to the aid of the prophet Daniel.

“15 Behold, he puts no trust in his holy ones;
Yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight:
16 How much less one who is abominable and corrupt,
A man who drinks iniquity like water!”
Job 15:15-16 WEB

When angels have sinned they (again like men)
are often punished WITHIN TIME.

Peter argues that if God did not even spare the angels, how can anyone escape his sins.

“For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarusa, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved to judgment; ”
2Pe 2:4 WEB

Similarly, Jude speaks of these things.

“Angels who didn’t keep their first domain, but deserted their own dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.”
Jude 6 WEB

The leader of open revolt was one called
Satan: the adversary.

Satan is spoken of as a cherub who was close to God in Ezekiel 28, as has been noted. Isaiah 14 is about the King of Babylon descending into torment, and the king of Babylon is treated as symbolic of the devil or Satan. It uses language here which it too exalted to speak of a mere man. It calls the one we call the devil or Satan as formerly being the “day-star, son of the morning!” Isa 14:12 WEB. This cherub tried to become THE GOD, and failed, and will be cast down to destruction.

“3 You said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit on the mountain of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit. ”
Isa 14:13-15 WEB

But how blessed are those angels who are
faithful to God.

20 “Praise Yahweh, you angels of his,
Who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word,
Obeying the voice of his word.
21 Praise Yahweh, all you hosts of his,
You servants of his, who do his pleasure.”
Psa 103:20-21 WEB

Not all do, but most of them do.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Men, Angels and the Christ in Prophecy, Part 2 of 9

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There are various levels or orders of angels. Just as not all men have the same strength or intelligence or functions in life, so it is with angels. Also some are archangels, meaning ruling angels.

Ezekiel 1 describes some powerful
angelic creatures.

They are unnamed in Ezekiel 1, but Ezekiel is seeing “visions of God” Ezek 1:1, and he see powerful creatures around Yahweh, the Lord God. He sees a storm coming out of the north with clouds and lightning, and brightness all around it, and there in the midst of all of this he sees “the likeness of four living creatures” having “the likeness of a man.” Each one had four faces and four wings, and hands under their wings. In front was the face of a man, to the right the face of a lion, to the left was the face of an ox, and to the rear the face of an eagle.

So what does this symbolism tell of these creatures? They had the intelligence and reasoning of a man, the ferocity of a lion, the strength of an ox, and the swiftness and sharp vision of an eagle.

Their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and they “ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.” Ezek 1:14 WEB. The noise of their wings was “like the noise of great waters,” Ezek 11:24. There is much more to tell in Ezekiel 1, but above these awesome creatures was a vision of Yahweh God, “a likeness as the appearance of a man,” Ezek 1:26. “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh.” Ezek 1:28 WEB. Then in chapter two, this One and Only God speaks to Ezekiel and calls him.

There is a similar vision in Ezekiel 10.

There they are called “cherubim,” which is the Hebrew plural of cherub. Cherubim, if you remember, were angels stationed to guard the garden of Eden, Gen 3:24. They are represented as over the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle that was built.

In Ezekiel 28 there is a dual discussion of the King of
Tyre, who symbolizes Satan, and Satan.

It says in Ezek 28:14 that he was “the anointed cherub who covers,” WEB. It says he was on “the holy mountain of God” until he sinned, and then he was cast down to the earth, doomed to die by fire coming from within him, Ezek 28:18.

What might this covering cherub who sinned
be able to do?

In Job 1, by God’s permission, he is able to move wicked men to steal all of Job’s livestock and murder his servants. He is able to make lightning fall from heaven sufficient to kill seven thousand sheep and all of their shepherds. He is able to make a straight line wind come across the plains and hit the house where Job’s sons and daughters are having a dinner, making the house collapse and kill all of its occupants. He also able, but again only by permission, to afflict Job with terrible diseases in Job 2.

But angels are not given dominion
over the earth!

No, man is given that, Gen 1:28.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

The World in Prophecy: An Evil World System

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All of us like to be liked. We wish everyone liked us.

But there is a world system which is evil.

Satan is allowed to tempt us and to try to seduce us. He is allowed to offer such rewards as a temporary existence here may carry. Satan said of what he offered Jesus, that

“I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.”
Lk 4:6 WEB

Jesus rejected this offer. The beast will accet the offer, Rev 13:2. As Jesus went to the cross He said,

“Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.” John 12:31 WEB

That system that Satan has cobbled together is evil to the core. Jesus kingdom is not of this system.

… “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.”
Jn 18:36 WEB.

We are a bred living for the wrong things.

The people of this world are very astute in living for this present world. In fact they are better at living for this world, than Christians are in living for the world to come. A certain rich man had a dishonest manager, who very cleverly skinned his employer. The rich man could only admire his shrewd behavior.

“His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light.”
Lk 16:8 WEB

It is comparing the children of this age with the children of the age to come.

This Age is in rebellion against God.

“This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.”
Jn 3:19 WEB.

It does not even want to know that it’s ways are evil.

“The world can’t hate you, but it hates me, because I testify about it, that its works are evil.”
Jn 7:7 WEB

The world system, the media, many large corporations,
many governments, the whole thing,

is not of God. It does not know God, it is against God.

““He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.”
Jn 12:30 WEB

“… If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him.”
1Jn 2:15 WEB

The world system is NOT your friend.

James goes further.

“… don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ”
Jas 4:4 WEB

In the end, this will all have to be answered for.

But God wants to redeem us, to the extent of offering His One and Only Son to suffer in our stead, “that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Jn 3:16 WEB

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy is Always Moral: The Man of Lawlessness

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Prophecy is never a neutral entity, devoid of any relationship to life.

A World Wide Revolt against ALL authority must happen
BEFORE the Second Coming

We should not be shook up as if the Second Coming has already happened, 2Thes 2:2. A great revolt against God must happen first, 2Thes 2:3. The Greek word is apostasia, and its main meaning is a defection, a revolt. Louw & Nida in their Greek-English Lexicon … 1989, UBS, NY, says it means “to rise up in open defiance of authority, with the presumed intention to overthrow it or to act in complete opposition to its demands …” (emphasis added). It is a much stronger word than the English word “apostasy,” or the KJV “falling away.” Translations that right on target in this instance include the English Standard Version (ESV) and the New English Translation Bible (NET), both of which translates it as a “rebellion.”

A special “man of lawlessness” will be worshipped

as the one and only “god,” 2Thes 2:4

He will be accompanied by “the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,” 2Thes 2:9 WEB. The whole world, all of the unsaved, will worship this man, and God Himself will help this man deceive the lost, 2Thes 2:10-11 WEB.

This man will be destroyed BY THE
SECOND COMING of Christ, 2Thes 2:8

So this is talking about things just before the end of our present universe.

Nothing this big has EVER happened.

No king, no revolutionary, no president, no religious leader, has ever been this big … so far! But Jesus says Scripture cannot be broken, Jn 10:35. This man is called “the beast” in Revelation. It says of when John is writing the book of Revelation, that this man,

“… was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. …”
Rev 17:8 WEB.

Then here is the Clincher:

There is a Mystery Religion that “already works”
in the first century of our age.

and which will work

until it seats this “god,” 2Thes 2:7

There have been, and there are, continual attempts throughout the Christian age to seat such a man as the “true” and one-and-only “god” of this world. You and I have read of such men in history, often without realizing the ultimate objectives.

Prophecy Principles describes some of the false christs of the Christian Age in the section called “Lab Work.”

Some of the men who have claimed the be current “savior” are reviewed in my book Prophecy Principles, in the section called “Lab Work, What does all of this mean to me?” The Christian age has been filled with false christs.

“For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.”
Mtt 24:5 WEB

If it will mean eternal destruction to worship this final false “god” in history, how much worse would it be to be sucked in by one of the many failures down through history, not realizing of what we have become a part.

There is even a competition among various occult groups world-wide, to see who will be able to produce the “real” “beast” of Revelation.

These prophecies are pertinent to the ENTIRE Christian age

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Mystery Babylon the Great, Her Allies and Competitors

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Mystery Babylon the Great sits far off in desert, a wilderness, Rev 17:3. An unpopulated place. No doubt it should be pointed out that Rome sits in a city, is a city. Another variance between Rome, ancient or modern, and Mystery Babylon?

On the other hand,

“The woman whom you saw IS the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
Rev 17:18 emphasis added

Contradictions in the same chapter? Or two different entities, one symbolic of the other?

Mystery Babylon is very rich

She is dressed and decorated with the most expensive of clothing and jewelry. She drinks from a gold cup that filled with the nasty fluids of fornication, Rev 17:4.

It does not seem that she gets rich off of kings and other merchants. Instead, she makes kings and other merchants rich. Mystery Babylon brings others great luxury and all sort of wild sex.

“For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury.”
Rev 18:3 WEB

Among the immediate allies then would be the kings and merchants of the earth.

She is source of everything disgusting and stupid

She is the mother even all “of the abominations of the earth.” Rev 17:5 WEB

She sits on a scarlet “beast,” an animal.

This animal is monstrous. It is full of blasphemous names and has seven heads and ten horns, Rev 17:3.

Of course that is the way Satan/the dragon is described in Rev 12:3, 9. Then Satan is described as coming out of the sea in Rev 13:1-2. It seems as if this “dragon” spawns a human organization that also has seven heads and ten horns. The heads are clearly the heads of the organization. It appears that this is what is called “the mystery of lawlessness” which was already at work in the first century in 2Thes 2:7. This organizations and leaders are said to be,

“ … the working of Satan with all power signs and lying wonders.” 2Thes 2:9 WEB.

And the dragon and this organization has ten horns. Horns in Scripture are often symbolic of power, even particular nations or kings in passages like Dan 7:24, and Dan 8:20.

So this Satanic organization is ruled by a council of seven men, and is supported by ten kings/nations.

The beast is both an ally and a competitor

Now Mystery Babylon rides this monster to victory. “the beast that carries her,” Rev 17:7 WEB. And the beast and the horns also hate her, Rev 17:7.

Think of them as like rival mafia clans which may work together at times, but may also bitterly fight at other times. Both work to “overcome” the saints, Rev 13:7. Babylon is “drunken with the blood of the saints,” Rev 17:5 WEB.

Will Mystery Babylon ascend to the heavens?

“Though Babylon should mount up to the sky, … yet from me shall destroyers come to her, says Yahweh. ”
Jer 51:53 WEB

“and you shall say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring on her; …”
Jer 51:64 WEB.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901