Who are the seventh and eighth kings mentioned in Revelation 17:10–11?
The identity of the seventh head is intimated in verse 11 in the form of a riddle:
“The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.” Revelation 17:11
The original Greek reads, “even he is eight.” There is no definite article here, and the number eight does not refer to an eighth head or kingdom, since the context insists that there are “seven heads” and “seven kings,” not eight (Revelation 17:8, 10). The answer to the “eighth” is found in the phrase, “and is of the seven.” That is, the eighth is one of the seven previous kings already mentioned. This makes sense when we understand that one of the previous kings, specifically papal Rome, received a deadly wound that was to be healed.
Only one kingdom has experienced death and resurrection. It is mentioned in Revelation 13, and it is Papal Rome:
“And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.” Revelation 13:3
The Greek word that is translated “mortally wounded” means “slain.”
Verse 11 states that the beast who is the eighth is “of the seven,” but the Greek reads, “and is out of the seven.” So, correctly read, this means that the head that was wounded or slain, on returning to life, is “one of the seven” or “out of the seven” (New American Standard Bible). Therefore, the “eighth” head must be Papal Rome resurrected, Papal Rome restored, Papal Rome after the deadly wound is healed, Papal Rome reaching world-dominant power in the End Time. It is the fifth king renewed; but by who or what means is the papacy restored to civil power?
A key description of the papacy is found in verse 8. It says that the beast “was, and is not and yet is” (Revelation 17:8). This is describing the union of the woman (church) with the beast (state). The papacy “was” riding the beast (supported by civil power), “is not” now riding the beast (supported by civil power), and “yet is” (recovering from the deadly wound) and “…will ascend out of the bottomless pit…” (Revelation 17:8). It will heal from the wound inflicted by the beast of the bottomless pit.
The papacy lost civil support in 1798 when, according to Bible prophecy and recorded history, a “beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit” inflicted the “deadly wound” (Revelation 11:7; 13:3). This phrase in Revelation 11:7, along with the phrase, “he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness,” gives us the time frame under which John was shown this particular prophetic vision. The wilderness refers to the period of papal persecution from 538 to 1798. At the end of this wilderness time, this beast, identified as atheistic France, “ascended out of the bottomless pit” and arrested and deposed of the civil support of the papacy—a setback it has yet to recover from. Therefore, it is from this historic perspective that John sees the seven kings, five of whom are fallen.
Revelation 17 is a summary/conclusion of the prophetic history of Revelation in connection with Daniel. According to Revelation 13:1–3, 11:8, and 13:11, the seven “kings” brought to view in this summary are:
- Babylon
- Media/Persia
- Greece
- Pagan Rome
- Papal Rome
- Atheistic France
- America
Historical location can be challenging in the book of Revelation, but it is key to a prophetic interpretation. For example, in Revelation 14:6–12, the context helps us to identify the historical location of the particular prophecy. The “judgment” hour in Revelation 14:7 points us to a post-1844 location for this message. Likewise, the following key points help identify the time element of the seven kings:
- One of the “seven angels which had the seven vials” shows John the final “judgement of the great whore,” directing us to an end-time scenario (Revelation 17:1).
- John is taken out of his day and “carried away in the Spirit into the wilderness,” pointing us to the Dark Ages from 538 to 1798 (Revelation 12:6, 14; 17:3).
- John sees that the woman is not riding the beast, identifying a post-1798 location when the Papal Church loses civil support (Revelation 17:7–8, 11).
- John sees that the beast will ascend out of the bottomless pit, again identifying a post-1798 time frame (Revelation 11:7, 17:8).
- John is shown ten horns but no crowns, indicating a time when monarchies were no longer functioning as world leaders (Revelation 13:2; 17:3, 12).
The civil power of the papacy will be healed by the support of “another beast” that arises out of the “earth” in Revelation 13:11. This earth beast, or earthly “king,” will “exercise all the authority of the first beast in his presence,” and will cause “the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed.” Revelation 13:12 (emphasis supplied).
This second beast in Revelation 13 is America, the earthly power that rose with two “lamb-like horns” but speaks with a “dragon” voice (Revelation 13:11).
The seventh and final king—America—that rose to prominence upon the Christian principles of civil and religious liberty, will eventually abandon those principles and speak like a dragon (Revelation 13:11). In so doing, America gives full healing to the papal church/state by making an image to the papacy and enforcing worship with economic sanctions and a death decree (Revelation 13:15–17). This seventh king supports the papacy (the fifth king) and continues “a short time” (Revelation 17:10).
Also note that verses 8 and 11 both make use of the word perdition:
“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition….” Revelation 17:8
“The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.” Revelation 17:11
Traditionally, we interpret the “man of sin” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 to be the leading Antichrist figure of Bible prophecy—the Pope. However, this passage also refers to the church-state union of the papacy as “the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)—another link to Revelation 17:8 and 11—and the identity of the fifth and eighth kings as being Papal Rome. The papacy is the fifth king, who is also the eighth, since he is “out of the seven” and goes into perdition. In John 17:12, Jesus identifies Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus to the Jewish civil authority for money, as “son of perdition.” So here in Revelation 17:8 and 11, it fitly represents a professedly Christian power who betrays Jesus for money—uniting church and state, and enforcing economic sanctions (Revelation 13:15–17).
Admittedly, this is a challenging prophetic mystery to unfold, and there are a variety of different interpretations of the seven kings of Revelation 17. One view suggests that they represent the seven Roman emperors. Another view suggests seven types of Roman governments, and yet another begins the count, not with Babylon, but with Assyria and then Egypt. Then there is the idea that the seven kings are seven popes, and finally, there are variations of the view we have shared here. One identifies the papacy as the fifth and seventh king, combined with the United States.
We present this view as one that seems to be a good fit to the context of prophetic history in Revelation, supplemented by Daniel, and affirmed by history. However, this view is held with biblical evidence, but not with the idea of infallibility. May God continue to lead each of us as we study His Holy Word and seek to understand its mysteries. Amen.