12 reasons why I believe that Revelation 17 describes the end of the millennium.
There are many theories about what Revelation 17 is describing. Most of the theories do not drift far apart from each other. All the ones I have reviewed have a describe a short-time coalition of nations making war on God’s people just before the second coming of Christ. Every theory I have examined contains unexplained elements—pieces of the Revelation 17 puzzle that don’t fit into the theory. Shouldn’t a puzzle use every piece? So, a # of years ago I began to wonder if Revelation 17 was an expansion on the 7th plague of Revelation 16:17-21, and the 7th plague occurred at the end of the millennium. The more I studied this, the more it made sense—in fact, every piece of the puzzle fit into the picture at the end of the millennium. Here are eleven reasons why I believe this theory:
The wording and description of the harlot of Revelation 17 and the Bride of Revelation 21:9ff, are paralleling contrasts. We know that the description of the Bride is in conjunction with the end of the millennium. So, Revelation 17 may be also.
Revelation 17 is the “judgment” of the great harlot. That occurs at the end of the millennium according to Revelation 20:11-15.
The three beasts of Revelation that have seven heads and ten horns vary as to where the crowns are: Revelation 12 has the crowns on the heads—the period of the 7 empires. Revelation 13 puts the crowns on the horns—the period of the multiple nations before the coming of Christ. Revelation 17 has no crowns because the empires and nations have no more dominion after the coming of Christ.
The harlot rides a red beast. This could easily be the devil, the red dragon of chapter 12. This beast is of the seven heads but is himself the eighth. At the end of the millennium, Satan himself will lead—he will not work through puppet governments.
The red beast, Satan, is said to come out of the abyss to go to destruction. According to Revelation 20, Satan is thrown into the abyss at the beginning of the millennium, and is released out of it for a short time at the end of the thousand years to receive his punishment.
Those who are with Satan are all who have not had their names written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. The only time all the lost will be alive and together is the end of the millennium.
The saints are with Jesus. The only time all the saints will be with Jesus literally while the wicked surround them is when they are in the New Jerusalem at the end of the millennium.
The ten (ten is symbolic of all) “kings” who receive authority with the beast (Satan) for “one hour” cannot join together until the end of the millennium because, according to Daniel 2, the feet of clay and iron do not mix together before the coming of Christ—not even for a short time. So this kind of unity of the nations cannot occur until the millennium is nearly ended. The union of nations here mentioned should not be confused with the unity of the Beast, the Dragon, and the False Prophet before the coming of Christ. Those are all religious forces that use the state. Daniel 2 says that the nations will not cling together before the coming of Christ.
If the harlot represents the falsehoods and lies of Satan, Revelation 17 describes both Satan and the lost turning on “her” to destroy her. At the end of the millennium, when the lost surround the city to make war with it, God stops them in their tracks. Then is fulfilled the prophecy of Philippians 2, that says, “Every knee will bow.” All proclaim Christ as just and righteous. This is the undoing of the lies of Satan. Only truth destroys error. When all, including the wicked and Satan, admit the God was right, the “harlot” will have been destroyed.
When the above has occurred, fire comes down from God out of heaven and destroys Satan and his followers. This is hell fire at the end of the millennium. This must be the seventh plague. Why? Because hell fire is described in Revelation 14:10 as the “wrath of God.” Revelation 15:1 says that in the seven last plagues, the wrath of God is “finished” or “completed.” If the seventh plague fell before the coming of Christ, all of God’s “wrath” would have occurred at that time, and there would have been no “wrath” left for hell fire at the end. So, the seventh plague fits at the end of the millennium, is hell fire, and is enlarged on in chapter 17.
You might ask: How can the huge hailstones of the seventh plague and hell fire be one and the same event? Good question. Read Ezekiel 38:22, Isaiah 30:30, and Psalm 18:12-13. Each of these texts put fire, brimstone and hailstones together in one event.
This theory fits another theory that states that Jesus’ coming is in the sixth seal, the sixth trumpet, the sixth plague and the sixth millennium to get the sixth church—Philadelphia, symbolically represented as the 144,000. By the time the “time of trouble such as never was” is cut short, there will be no Laodicean church— everyone will turn either hot or cold. Then Philadelphia re-emerges as the church that will be alive to see Jesus come. The people of Philadelphia are described as having “the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem… and My new name,” Revelation 3:12. Compare that with Revelation 14:1’s description of the 144,000: “Having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.” At the end of the 1000 years, the seventh seal is accomplished, the seventh trumpet is blown, the seventh plague is poured out and the seventh millennium is over.
Many people may find all this very boring and ask, “So what?” I believe that since you have opened this web site, you would like to have challenging things like this to contemplate.
Until next time, have a good week.
Dennis
dennispumford.com
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