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# The Book of Daniel - Number Fifty-Six

Unlocking the Mystery of Revelation 17: The Final Prophecy of the Great Whore and the Beast

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

January 20, 2024

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Key Takeaways

- The Wilderness and the 1,260 Years: Explore how the “wilderness” represents the 1,260 years of papal rule from 538 to 1798, as foretold in Revelation 12 and 17.
- The Great Whore and Her Fornication: Uncover the identity of the great whore sitting upon “many waters” and her sinful liaison with the “kings of the earth,” as described in Revelation 17:1–3.
- The Forgotten Whore: Discover the historical parallels between the great whore of Tyre and the United States, and how the great whore was to be forgotten for a symbolic seventy years.
- The Papal Judgment: Understand the connection between the judgment of the great whore and the biblical reference to the daughter of a priest who committed fornication, leading to her being burnt with fire.
- The Ten Kings and Their Role: Explore the significance of the ten kings in Revelation 17, symbolizing the United Nations, their alliance with the papacy, and their eventual judgment upon the great whore.
- The Persecution and the Lamb: Analyze the persecution of God’s people orchestrated by the ten kings and its parallels to the persecution of Christ at His crucifixion.
- The Beasts and the Woman: Decode the symbolism of the beast and the woman riding it, representing the combination of church and state in a single kingdom, also known as the “image of the beast.”

The last representation of the kingdoms of Bible prophecy is found in Revelation chapter seventeen. In that chapter, in verse three, John is carried into the “wilderness”, so that the angel can show John the judgment of the “great whore” of prophecy, who sits upon “many waters” and who committed “fornication” with the “kings of the earth.”

> And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. Revelation 17:1–3.

By John’s own words the “wilderness” represents the twelve hundred and sixty years of papal rule from the year 538, unto the time of the end in 1798.

> And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. … And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. Revelation 12:6, 14.

In the spirit, John was transported into the twelve hundred and sixty years of papal rule. Those years had been typified by the three and a half years of drought during the history of Jezebel, Ahab and Elijah. Those years were to continue until the papacy received its deadly wound in 1798, for that had been “determined” to occur at the end of the first indignation, which was the end of the war brought upon the sanctuary and host through the two desolating powers of paganism and papalism. All of these facts have been set forth in recent articles.

The “great whore,” is Isaiah’s whore of Tyre, who was to be forgotten for seventy symbolic years, which were the “days of one king.” The history of the United States, is the history of the symbolic seventy years, which had been typified by the seventy years of captivity during the reign of Babylon, the first kingdom of Bible prophecy. During that history the great whore of Tyre was to be forgotten. At the end of that history she was to be remembered and once again to go forth and sing her songs, thus committing fornication with the kings of the earth. John was spiritually conveyed into the history of papal rule in order to see the judgment of the papal power. The judgment of a daughter of a priest who committed fornication was that she was to be burnt with fire.

> And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire. Leviticus 21:9.

In the vision of the judgment of the great whore that was given to John by one of the angels who poured out one of the seven last plagues was that she was burnt with fire.

> And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. Revelation 17:16.

The waters that the great whore is sitting upon are the people of the world, who will be brought under her authority when the United States deceives the entire world to worship the beast, who is also the great whore. The United States then becomes the premier king of the ten kings who are represented in the prophecy of Revelation seventeen, and in this illustration the United States represents the first king to commit fornication with the whore, though she will accomplish that act with all the kings thereafter.

The first king of many kings is represented by Ahab, who was married to the great whore, who is represented as Jezebel in the church of Thyatira. The judgment of Jezebel (the great whore), is accomplished by the ten kings, who will be forced into a church and state alliance by the power of the United States. Those kings will agree to allow the papacy to rule the world (sit upon the waters), in spite of their hatred for the whore.

> And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Revelation 17:12–18.

The “ten kings” (the United Nations), actually hate the papacy, but are forced by circumstances to turn their short-lived kingdom over to the papal power in a vain hope to save the world from its increasing calamities. When they realize her deception, they become the instrument to burn her with fire in fulfillment of the law in Leviticus.

The “ten kings” “make war with the Lamb” through the persecution they bring upon God’s last day people.

> Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Psalms 2:1–5.

The persecution that is accomplished for the papacy by the kings of the earth, was also done against Christ at the cross.

> Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. Acts 4:25–28.

The “kings of the earth” that stood up against Christ at his crucifixion represents the “ten kings” of Revelation seventeen that make war with the Lamb again by persecuting his people. At the cross, those kings were the “assembly of the wicked” who “compassed” Christ, and who do so again with his last day people.

> For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. Psalms 22:16–18.

The ten kings, who bring judgment upon the great whore burn her with fire, for she is a whore that professes to be a priest’s daughter. Those kings are also represented as “dogs,” and the ten kings will not only burn the great whore with fire, but will “eat her flesh.” The death of Jezebel was brought about when she was thrown from the wall and splattered on the ground, and then the dogs came and ate her flesh.

> And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window. And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king’s daughter. And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel. 2 Kings 9:30–37.

The ten kings, who are the United Nations, whose premier king is the United States, will bring judgment upon the papacy by burning her with fire and eating her flesh. That judgment is what the angel came to show to John, and in order to do so he carried John into the history of the wilderness, but not simply a random point in the history of the wilderness, but to the very end of the period. It is evident that John was placed at the end of the twelve hundred and sixty years, for when he sees the woman she was already drunk with the blood of persecution and already identified as the mother of harlots.

> So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. Revelation 17:3–6.

The whore of Tyre, who is also the “great whore” that is represented in Revelation seventeen, was to be forgotten until the time when she would once again sing her songs and commit fornication with the kings of the earth.

Any reputable dictionary that was published before 1950 identifies that the woman arrayed in scarlet in Revelation seventeen is a symbol of the Roman Catholic church, but today the world thinks the Catholic church is a Christian church. The world has forgotten who she really is.

When John saw her the persecution of the Dark Ages was at its end, for she was already drunk with the blood of the saints. The natural illustrates the spiritual, and a person gets drunk after they drink, not before.

The Protestants that broke from Catholicism centuries before 1798, had already begun their journey back to the Catholic communion by 1798, for she was identified as the “MOTHER OF HARLOTS.” When John saw her and wondered, the churches that had formerly separated from her fellowship had already returned. Thus John was carried to 1798, when the great whore already had murdered millions of Christians, and who had already seduced the former Protestant churches to accept her presumptuous claim that she was the head of the churches, as Justinian had identified her in the year 533.

From the prophetic vantage point of 1798, the angel then presented John with the last representation of the kingdoms of Bible prophecy.

> And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. Revelation 17:7–12.

A beast is a kingdom in Bible prophecy as easily identified in chapters seven and eight of Daniel, and the mystery that the angel is presenting to John is the mystery of the beast and the woman that rides upon the beast. The woman on the beast is the great whore who commits fornication with the kings of the earth. She is Jezebel and her husband is Ahab.

> Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:24.

A man is a man and a woman is a woman, but together they are one flesh. The mystery of the beast is that it is a combination of church and state, the combination of woman (church) and beast (kings) that are one kingdom, which consists of two parts. Statecraft and churchcraft combined, with the woman in control of the relationship, is the “image of the beast.” John is shown the woman being carried by the beast, for she is the one in control of the relationship.

> And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Revelation 17:18.

Together the beast and the woman represent one kingdom (one flesh), but the angel is emphasizing the relationship of the great whore with the kings of the earth. “The beast that” “was, and is not”, which “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition,” that “they that dwell on the earth shall wonder” after is the papacy when the great whore’s deadly wound is healed. She “was” the fifth kingdom of Bible prophecy, but it was “determined” that she would receive a deadly wound in 1798.

When John was spiritually transported to 1798, she was “not” a beast, and “yet” when her deadly wound is healed at the end of the seventy symbolic years that conclude at the soon-coming Sunday law, she “is” again alive, singing her songs, committing fornication and murdering Christians.

Chapter seventeen is the last presentation of the kingdoms of Bible prophecy, and as such it must agree with the first mention of the kingdoms of Bible prophecy. The first mention of those kingdoms is found in Daniel chapter two, which is represented upon both of the charts that were a fulfillment of Habakkuk’s command to write the vision and make it plain upon tables.

The Millerites were correct in their understanding of Daniel’s kingdoms of Bible prophecy as represented in chapters two, seven and eight, but their understanding was incomplete. Miller’s jewels of Daniel chapter two, shines ten times brighter in the last days, for it is recognized as identifying the first reference, not only of the kingdoms of Bible prophecy, but also of the first reference of the revelation that the eighth is of the seven. Jesus always illustrates the end of a thing with the beginning of a thing.

All the prophets are speaking of the last days, and John, in Revelation seventeen is identifying the last earthly kingdom when he presents “the beast that” “was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition.” The beast ascends out of “the bottomless pit,” which is a symbol of a “new manifestation of satanic power.”

> “‘When they shall have finished [are finishing] their testimony.’ The period when the two witnesses were to prophesy clothed in sackcloth ended in 1798. As they were approaching the termination of their work in obscurity, war was to be made upon them by the power represented as ‘the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit.’ In many of the nations of Europe the powers that ruled in Church and State had for centuries been controlled by Satan, through the medium of the papacy. But here is brought to view a new manifestation of Satanic power.” The Great Controversy, 268.

Some of the theologians will argue that because the “beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit” in Revelation eleven, is identified in the passage as the atheism of the French Revolution, that the expression “bottomless pit” is a symbol of atheism. But Islam ascended out of the “bottomless pit” in Revelation nine, and Islam is not atheism. The bottomless pit represents a satanic manifestation.

> “I told him that the Lord had shown me in vision that mesmerism was from the Devil, from the bottomless pit, and that it would soon go there, with those who continued to use it.” Review and Herald, July 21, 1851.

Something from “the Devil,” is something from “the bottomless pit.” In Revelation seventeen the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit is the power that goes into perdition and those whose names are not written in the book shall wonder after. “Perdition” means eternal damnation and is represented in Revelation as the “lake of fire,” which is where the beast is cast into.

> And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Revelation 19:20.

In chapter thirteen the first beast that comes from the sea, which Sister White directly identifies as the papacy is identified. In that passage the world wonders after the papal beast.

> And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. Revelation 13:13.

The beast of Revelation seventeen that “they that dwell on the earth shall wonder” after is the final manifestation of satanic power that occurs when the deadly wound of the papacy is healed at the soon-coming Sunday law. Every prophetic characteristic of the woman and the beast she rides upon in chapter seventeen, identifies the church of Rome, just as the dictionaries published before 1950 identified.

The beast of Revelation seventeen, is a symbol of the combination of church and state, which is the image of the beast. The beast with seven heads and ten horns is the kingdom that is composed of the ten kings (the United Nations), which the woman rides upon and rules over. The woman is the papacy, who is identified as Babylon the great, the mother of harlots. After the symbols are identified we can return to 1798; the point in history where John was carried to in order to receive the last representation of the kingdoms of Bible prophecy.

We shall address those kingdoms, and their representation in Daniel chapter two, in the next article.

> “Every nation that has come upon the stage of action has been permitted to occupy its place on the earth, that it might be seen whether it would fulfill the purpose of ‘the Watcher and the Holy One.’ Prophecy has traced the rise and fall of the world’s great empires—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. With each of these, as with nations of less power, history repeated itself. Each had its period of test, each failed, its glory faded, its power departed, and its place was occupied by another.

> “While the nations rejected God’s principles, and in this rejection wrought their own ruin, it was still manifest that the divine, overruling purpose was working through all their movements.” Education, 177.

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