The beast's seven heads represent the kings and kingdoms dedicated to the beast's service. More than that, they are brought to a focus in seven particular world leaders who have committed their energy to the captivity and destruction of the House of Israel.
It is in this obsession -- the destruction of the people of God -- that we can identify the heads specifically. They are:
1. Egypt2. Assyria
3. Babylon
4. Persia
5. Greece (through Syria)
6. pagan Rome
7. Hitler's Germany
8. And rising now out of Persia, there is an eighth, probably a reincarnation of Rome.
The ten horns are a part of this eighth, and they represent the nations making up what Daniel called 'the fourth kingdom of Persia' -- the ten eastern nations who will band together to support the reappearance of this eighth and last beastly head at the end of time.
The seven heads, then, while pointing in one sense to Rome or to the continents of the world, are integrally bound up with nations and their rulers. It is in this latter sense that they can be most clearly identified.
While the seven heads of the beast seem to encompass in a symbolic way all the pagan rulers of Babylon from its inception to its end, they can be seen most vividly in those seven individual governments listed above which have actively committed their energies to the purpose of Satan's fundamental goal: the enslavement and persecution of God's people on earth.The eighth head is said to be a reincarnation of one of the previous seven. It is rising now out of Persia, but in its rebirth it will probably be considered Rome. When Nero, the personification of the sixth head died, a prophecy arose that he would come back to life at the head of a massive Parthian army. Using it, he will advance west, conquer Rome and set himself up as emperor there at the end of time. The Book of Revelation calls this 'the healing of the mortal wound'. It is the reincarnation of a Roman empire that is pagan and pitted against God.
It is a 'healing', however, that will only be temporary.
Then the End will come, and with it, the Return of Christ and the Judgment of God.
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E.C.S.Leavenworth III; Goodnews Christian Ministry.