THE MYSTERY OF THE EIGHTH ITERATION OF THE BEAST

I’m sorry I’m late in posting this; I had additional insights which delayed its completion; it was intended for Dec. 10, because it explains the content of the letters that follow, referring to the eighth appearance (iteration) of the Beast in Revelation 17.

Babylon is Fallen, is Fallen that Great City! — (Hopefully for Dec. 24, 2023)

Considering that Revelation chapter 13 provides the reader with such a lot of information about the God-opposing beast entity that has seven heads and ten horns and the false prophet who enforces the beast’s ideology, mark and worship, it is noticeable that there are not a lot of references relating to the continuing existence for the beast in Revelation chapters 14 to 16. However, the few references listed (further down), not only show that the consequences arising from the beast’s seventh-head former existence, and the false prophet’s actions—via the imposition of the mark of the beast, and the worship of the beast’s image—are still ongoing, but they also show that the heavenly repercussions from the earlier activities of these two agents of the primordial Dragon, are still causing problems for the people on earth!

However, what has not been understood clearly, until recently, relates firstly to the fact that the beast that was earlier described with seven-heads and ten horns in Revelation 13:1, is not portrayed in quite the same way as it is in the beast’s later eighth manifestation in Revelation 17:11–12 (below). Secondly, the repetitive information in the verse that forms a summary (Rev. 17:8 below), seems to describe two different occasions (for the beast’s seventh head iteration), and then a later occasion for a new eighth iteration of the beast (from the same source), being of a somewhat similar nature, but with the same result!

The beast that you saw [previously] was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel… when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (Rev. 17:8)

The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet… (Rev. 17:11–12)

The most important piece of information I can offer—regarding the mystery and the wisdom that is needed to explain the beast portrayed in Revelation is this:

The beast (Revelation chapters 13–17 and 19–20) remains the singular earthly agent that is used repeatedly by the primordial Dragon/Satan, to oppose and thwart Yahweh God. Satan has previously accomplished these goals via the six historical ‘head’ iterations of the beast that have appeared as empires; but the seventh and eighth iterations of the beast rise up as Caliphates from two different Islamic sources, and their earthly appearances are separated by a period of time.

So far, the singular beast has appeared via the seven consecutive gentile empires, kingdoms and caliphates that have existed on the earth since the flood. These entities all cooperated with the Dragon through the authority and power he granted them during his continuing and vile attempts to establish his own kingdom on earth, and prevent the Kingdom of God from coming! [1]

Note: A clue to understanding the enigma of the beast’s seven iterations that seem to ‘come-and-go’ to perdition etc., is to realise that while the beast is singular, his manifestations via empires are many! (Just like an electric drill that has an assortment of screw-driver ‘heads’ that can be attached to it; but it remains only one powerful drill. Like the powerful drill, the beast can only become operational when it has a ‘head’ empire or caliphate to do its work.) To date all of the former seven heads/empires in league with the beast have done-their-dash, completed their tenure on earth, and have passed into history.

Unfortunately, the imagery portrayed in Revelation chapter 17, contains concepts that are difficult to explain in writing (and I’m sure the writer of Revelation must have seen it all more clearly in full colour). But, while the eighth iteration of the beast is presented as being quite similar to the seventh (previous) one, i.e., they both rise up out of all seven Middle Eastern empires and they both have 10 horns, the eighth iteration is different in this one respect: whereas, the ten powerful horn leaders were depicted earlier with crowned horns, i.e., they were sovereign countries—the horns on the eighth manifestation are said to be ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet!

Thus, the premise of this letter is that the earlier seventh beast iteration of the beast came from the Sunni branch of Islam, while the almost-duplicate clone presented in the eighth iteration comes from the Shia branch of Islam.

In attempting to explain this conundrum, I have separated out the information about the woman called Babylon, who was sitting on the beast in Revelation 17, and I have put those details in a separate letter called … BABYLON IS FALLEN, IS FALLEN, THAT GREAT CITY! Posted on December 17, or 24, 2023.

BUT First, regarding the seventh head on the beast: the books that I have written (with contemporary interpretations for the end time), show that the Beast (that John saw in Revelation 13:1, was ‘complete’ with seven heads (i.e., iterations of seven consecutive empires). Thus, all seven heads/kings or leaders of kingdoms have been accounted for by the time we reach Revelation 17:

There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. (Rev.17:10) (Relating to the 1^st century time of writing.)

So, the seventh head/king who had not yet come, would appear after the ‘one is’ in John’s day, which was Rome (the sixth). Apparently, the seventh head on the Beast would not only come (once), but it would later continue a short time.

Although the Islamic Conquest began [in the Middle East and around the Mediterranean] during the seventh century, it was not until the Ottoman Empire/Caliphate conquered Constantinople, the Capital of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire, in AD 1453, that the Ottoman Empire became the beast’s seventh head, which existed for 465 years until 1918.

As I have pointed out in my other letters to the Doves, the sequence of seven (head) empires that have comprised the beast so far: began with Babel (the first Empire), and continued via the Assyrian, Babylonian, Media-Persian, Macedon-Grecian, Roman, and Ottoman Empires, until 1918, when the SUNNI Ottoman Empire/Caliphate received a mortal wound during WWI, and was subsequently signed out of existence in 1922–1924. At this point in time, all seven historical and Biblical empires ceased to exist, without heirs. The age of nation-states had begun.

However, ninety-five years later—after rising up from the same territories previously occupied by all seven Gentile empires—an apparently healed and restored SUNNI Caliphate suddenly appeared, called the Islamic State! It had Capital cities in Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq, plus numerous subsidiary (horn) provinces (Wilayat) that it administered, which were based in other countries. It is believed it was supported by citizens in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Thus, rising from the same ground as Babel’s origin in Mesopotamia, this repeat SUNNI Islamic Caliphate (IS) continued for a further short period of 42 months, from June 29, 2014, until Dec. 9, 2017. Thus, Islamic State came from the same SUNNI branch of Islam, as the Ottoman Empire!

As a result, these two Caliphates from the SUNNI branch of Islam are combined, thus forming the seventh head on the primary beast. This two-part iteration of the beast can be fitted into the phrases used in Revelation 13:3 and 5b:

I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded… (the SUNNI Ottoman Empire in 1918).

And his deadly wound was healed… (via the revival of a SUNNI Caliphate, viz., (IS) Islamic State).

And he was given authority to continue for forty-two months… (i.e., June 29, 2014–Dec. 9, 2017).

So, the SUNNI Caliphate reappeared—after a hiatus of ninety-five years, following its mortal wound by the sword of war (Rev. 13:14b)—when the False Prophet was granted power to make an image of the Caliph live, breathe and speak again (Rev. 13:15). For explanation see Endnote. [2]

Thus, the SUNNI Caliphate called the Islamic State completed its tenure on earth, by continuing for a short time, in the same manner as its predecessor the SUNNI Islamic, Ottoman Caliphate!

So the fate of the two SUNNI Caliphates—which were depicted as the seventh head on the beast—had been decided, and the seventh head ceased to have dominion anymore!

BUT, even so, the Beast’s followers continue their activities – Chapters 14–16

These three chapters (14–16) show us that there is essentially a slow war of attrition still occurring on earth, as the primordial Dragon continues to empower the fanatical Islamist followers of the beast’s seventh iteration, who had committed themselves to support it, and to continue its work, i.e., the Islamist terrorist admirers of the former Caliphate, who still inhabit the ‘ten horn’ nations, and who have Satan’s authority to wear out the people of God, both Jews and Christians! (Rev. 12:17; 13:7)

Revelation Chapter 14 is related to the angel’s condemnation of those who follow the beast:

‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God… and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’ (Rev. 14:9b–10a, 11b)

In Chapter 15 the only mention of the word beast is in relation to those dead Christian martyrs who:

Have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, [in heaven] having harps of God. (Rev. 15:2b)

Chapter 16 then tells us about the seven bowls of God’s wrath that are poured out on the earth by his angels. The bowls of wrath that principally concern the beast entity and his allies are:

The first bowl is poured out on the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image, who developed a foul and loathsome sore. (Rev. 16:2)

The fifth bowl causes the throne of the beast and his kingdom to become full of darkness. (Rev. 16:10)

The sixth bowl is poured out on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. (Rev. 16:12; cf. Rev. 9:14–16)

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (Rev. 16:13–14)

And they (the unclean spirits of demons) gathered them (i.e., the kings of the earth and of the whole world) together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. (Rev. 16:16)

Clearly, these three chapters, Revelation 14–16, show that the influence of the beast, the false prophet and their evil allies had continued and progressed substantially—from their primary goal of establishing an Islamist Caliphate to rule the world—to a place where the demons possessing the Dragon, the Beast and False Prophet were driving their intent, infecting their allies, and causing so much chaos, lawlessness, enmity toward Jews and Christians, and anarchy among the nations of the world, that the point-of-no-return had been reached: the battle, to-end-all-battles—Armageddon—had become inevitable!

So far, John and his angel escorts have given us a preview of the ‘setting up’ stage for ‘the snare’ that surprised and captured unsuspecting Israelis and foreigners on October 7, 2023. [3] For Israel, it caused an existential quandary—a war they never started—which they could not avoid; as well as a quandary for her western supporting nations who could also be trapped in a war they didn’t want! So, it will be the subsequent and still future interactions—between the Islamist beast in the east and the rest in the west—which will decide whether the nations of the world face up to Armageddon’s denouement!

Note: It has always bothered me that whereas the descriptions of the beast in Revelation chapters 13–16 (dealt with above), show that it has seven heads and ten horns, yet the description of the beast in Revelation 17:3, 7, 11–13—although quite similar in that it still has seven heads and ten ‘somewhat similar’ horns—indicates that there are certain elements that are either missing (in this later version of the beast), or else the details have been changed in some respect.

I refer to the absence of any comment about the False Prophet; no reference to the lion, bear and leopard ancestry that dictated the territorial shape of the beast, even though the mark of the beast and the worship of its image still appeared to be in vogue during chapters 14–16.

Furthermore, in chapter 17 the beast is now scarlet coloured and there is a woman sitting on it—i.e., a garishly dressed harlot with her prostitute name—Babylon—tattooed on her forehead! Also, whereas the beast with seven heads in chapter 13 came up from the Mediterranean Sea to inhabit a territorial land mass, the now scarlet beast and the woman sitting on it in chapter 17, can only be viewed by John when he is taken ‘in the Spirit’ into the wilderness to see them together.

Nevertheless, the angel instructing John has not finished his task yet; he explains that the scarlet beast is an eighth iteration of the beast, and this is where a complicated riddle needs to be solved!

So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (Rev. 17:3)

And when I saw her, I marvelled with great amazement. But the angel said to me, ‘Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her which has the seven heads and the ten horns. (Rev. 17:6b–7)

Here is the mind which has wisdom… The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. (Rev. 17:9a, 11)

So, now we have been told there is an eighth iteration of the beast that is yet to come; it is of the seven (but as far as I am aware) this eighth iteration has gotten little or no attention, to date! This eighth iteration is a tricky one, and while it comes from the seven previous Empires and Caliphates that we have already identified, we need lots of wisdom to understand the mystery of what this eighth iteration is, and when it is! I suggest it is only to be understood—via the additional details given in the scriptures below—but only if those details align with history!

The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of Lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.(Rev. 17:12–14)

And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. (Rev. 17:16–17) (See Revelation 14:8 for Babylon’s fate).

Obviously there is a great deal of swapping around of ‘authority and power’ going on between this later version of the now familiar Islamist beast, and the ten kingdom-less (i.e., uncrowned kings) who act as accomplices, who seem intent on conducting a Holy War with the Lamb; i.e., Christ the Lord of Lords and King of kings and the Christians accompanying Him, who are called, chosen, and faithful citizens in the Kingdom of God!

The questions could be asked, are these ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, the same as the previous ten ‘crowned’ horns/nations belonging to the seventh iteration of the beast (Rev. 13:1), or, are they a totally different bunch? The answer to both questions is probably YES! Some are likely to be the same and others are likely to be different, because I believe this latter grouping of ten (kingdom-less) kings rise up from both branches of Islam, under a SHIA eighth iteration of the beast!

Thus, the 10 (crowned) horns described in Revelation 13 rose up from the SUNNI branch of Islam (as per the ‘official’ Ottoman Empire and ‘short-lived’ Islamic State), while the 10 ‘so-called kings’ in Revelation 17 are ‘unofficial’ terrorist leaders with militias from the SHIA (Twelver) branch of Islam, which is endemic to Iran, although many of its proxy Shia terrorist groups operate from inside other countries (not all of which are Muslim ruled nations). They obviously receive authority and weapons from their Iranian source, and in return they give the power and authority of their militias back to the SHIA version of the beast, which we have yet to see fully rising up!

In today’s military terms such ‘kingdom-less kings’ are called ‘non-state’ Foreign Terrorist Groups (FTO’s) that have no legitimacy in the nations that accommodate them, and they have been classed as such by many western nations!

So, I have repeated the grey box from the top of the page above and divided it into two parts, to show the seventh and eighth iterations of the beast, with emphasised remarks to guide our understanding as to what these difficult verses actually mean.

So, we must look to our present-day situation, to see if history agrees with the interpretation above…

This listing includes the 60+ terrorist groups designated by the US State Department as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), as well as an additional 10 non-designated, self-proclaimed branches and affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) FTO. The information provided includes details on each cited group's history, goals, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, weapons, size, and sources of support.

We should therefore realize that both SUNNI and SHIA branches of Islam have proxy Islamist terrorist groups that adhere to their individual sponsor’s ideology! Recently Iran brought into existence an Axis of Resistance that incorporates both SUNNI and SHIA (FTOs) under its SHIA military umbrella. Clearly, the SHIA branch of Islam located in IRAN is also territorially situated within the previous beast’s seven ‘heads’ and ‘ten horns’ location; which provided the shape for the seventh iteration of the Middle-eastern beast. THE DRAGON, THE BEAST, AND BABYLON (fivedoves.com)

But IRAN (with its proxy militia groups) is now rising up as the eighth iteration, out of the same territory, after forming a coalition with the ‘ten horns/kings without kingdoms’ who have given their power to the SHIA beast. Thus, the clues offered in chapter 17 tell us that the ten horns/kings from the eighth iteration, who have received no kingdom as yet, are probably a mixed group of FTOs under SHIA leadership, who have no allegiance to the nations they have infiltrated! They are Shia interlopers who work for Iran. Obviously, these ten kings/proxy Shia terrorist leaders have high hopes of receiving a kingdom when their particular brand of terrorism succeeds in toppling the governments of other nations, so they can successfully transform them into their own Shia kingdoms as a reward for service to Iran.

Furthermore, Revelation states these ten ‘kings without kingdoms’ give their power to the beast to fight against the Lamb who overcomes them.

These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. (Rev. 17:14)

This description portends a cosmic religious war between Islam and Christianity! [4]

So, we are warned again that an eighth iteration of the beast (described in Revelation 17:11), is rising up from the bottomless pit—after a 70 months (plus) period of time in which the beast did not noticeably exist—(i.e., from Islamic State’s demise on Dec. 9 2017 until Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023), thus revealing itself as a duplicitous and dangerous foe working for the SHIA eighth iteration of the beast!

The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven… (Rev. 17:11a)

So, whether a still future (and different) eighth iteration of the Dragon’s influential earthly agent will rise up out of the previous seven manifestations of demonic power—to make further use of the mark of the beast and compel people to receive the mark and worship the beast—is not yet known, but I think there is enough evidence in Revelation 17 to convict IRAN of that intent.

But then, Revelation 17:12–18 clearly states that the ten powerful subordinate ‘horns’ or subsidiary ‘kings’ who are militarily aligned with the SHIA beast, and who have received no kingdom as yet, still have a sneaky and deceitful task to fulfil!

Apparently, the ten newly identified Islamist terrorist cells (SUNNI and SHIA proxy FTOs), become disenchanted with the religious harlot called Babylon, her iconography, her luxurious wealth, and her betrayal of their radical ideology and manifesto, so they set out to destroy the Great City, in accordance with the will of God. (Rev. 17:17) [5]

Meanwhile, the evil spirits that possess the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet are drawing the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to the place called (in Hebrew) Armageddon (Rev. 16:13–14, 18–21; 17:16–18).

My conclusion: if the recurring war between Hamas and Israel continues on for several more months, and if Israel’s violent, destructive and seemingly indiscriminate bombing response leads to world-wide condemnation of Israel and its leaders’ actions—causing western support to wane, to be reduced, or cancelled altogether—then Shia Iran will have a persuasive enough excuse to command a larger conglomerate of Islamist Shia and Sunni proxy (FTOs): e.g., Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, PIJ, and IRGC, to attack Israel from their bases in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain and Palestinian territories in Gaza and the West Bank, together with smaller FTO militant cells embedded in nearby Muslim states like Jordan and Egypt.

In such a scenario, we should most certainly recognise a multinational anti-Semitic and anti-Christian Shia ‘head’ rising up as the eighth iteration of the beast entity! Such a force could well cause existing Sunni FTOs to switch sides, perhaps departing from their current Sunni sponsors, in order to attack the democratic nations in the Middle east Asia and elsewhere, to fulfil the prophecy regarding the ten horns/kings:

For God has put it into their hearts to fulfil His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled! (Rev. 17:16)

You may be thinking by now that all this is pure fantasy from my imagination, with little proof of truth, but there are one or two other matters that need to be explained in Revelation chapter 17 yet…

e.g., why is the beast with a woman sitting on it, now a scarlet colour? Why do the ten FTOs under the eighth SHIA iteration of the beast attack the Great City that rules over the Kings of the earth? Why does God put the idea of doing that into their hearts? Why does that fulfil His purpose? And what words of God will be fulfilled by the attack on the Great City? (Rev. 17:17) Most important of all, when does the Lamb appear? And who are the called, chosen, and faithful ones who accompany Him?

These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. (Rev. 17:14)

[1] Refer to Matt 4:8–10; Luke 4:5–8; re. Satan’s attempt to divert Jesus’ worship to himself, during his temptation in the wilderness.

[2] There is nothing mystical or magical about what is described in Revelation 13:14–15. It is simply an explanation for what happened at the first Friday prayer service—during Ramadan, June 29, 2014—when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, appeared in a televised recording (for all the World to see) at the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, in Mosul, northern Iraq; to announce a World-wide Caliphate, called Islamic State (IS), later known as ISIL or ISIS! Baghdadi announced himself as: Caliph Ibrahim, the first Caliph of the Islamic State, and he did this on the authority of the Islamist ‘Shura Council’ and the authority of the Quran, the Muslim Holy Book, which contains the theology and ideology of Muhammad, the False Prophet of Islam. A follow-up audio-taped message of Caliph Ibrahim was released via Social Media, on 13 November 2014. Thus, the False Prophet:

He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. (Rev. 13:15)

See Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi - Wikipedia for further details.

[3] See my Five Doves letter – A Warning: The Snare catches the whole world by surprise. October 17, 2023.

[4] The recent diabolical and devious attack on Israel, by Hamas on October 7, 2023, was precipitated by the ‘Normalization Talks’ that were announced earlier in September. The talks were scheduled to take place between Saudi Arabia and Israel, after Rosh Hashana, Tishrei 1, 5784 (Sept. 16, 2023), being Israel’s New Year for Governmental Affairs. If perchance Sunni Saudi Arabia (under new management) abandoned its home-grown Saudi Arabian and Qatari backed Sunni terrorist groups—to make peace with Israel—it is not hard to understand why the Sunni (Salafi-Wahhabi inspired FTOs) anti-secular, anti-iconographic and anti-democratic terrorist groups would join with Iran’s Shiite FTOs to destroy Mecca.

See my Five Doves letter ‘Islamic Studies and anti-Semitic Demonstrations’ post, dated 26 Nov.2023.

[5] See my additional letter to Five Doves called: Babylon is Fallen, is Fallen, that Great City – posted on Dec. 17 or 24, 2023.