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Seven Hills,
by unanimous interpretation, means Rome, the “city on seven hills”
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Seven Kings
has three major interpretations, not really associated with specific theories
(variants, however, are):
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• Some hold them to
be specific emperors (the list varies);
usually with the idea that the one who “now is” (Nero? 666?) will be a
type of the AntiChrist to come.
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• Some hold this to
be the order of Roman government types:
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Kings, consuls,
dictators, decemvirs and tribunes, followed by
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Ceasars, followed by
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(“Yet to be” --
futurist) or the Dukes of Ravenna (in tribute to the Emperor in
Constantinople)
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• Others hold these
to be the great empires of antiquity:
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Assyria, Egypt,
Babylonia, Medo-Persia and Greece, followed by
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Rome, followed by
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Revived Rome (which
gives rise to the eighth king, the Antichrist)
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The Eighth King
splits neatly between historicist and futurist:
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• The historicist
says it’s the Pope.
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• The futurist says
it’s the coming Antichrist, ruling the revived Roman Empire.
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The Ten Kings,
all agree, are to be identified with the ten toes in Daniel’s statue. The view from there splits:
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• Amillenialists see
a variety of possiblities. One
interesting one is that like the Parthians of old there will be ten satraps
in the empire of the Antichrist.
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• Futurists hold
these ten to be kings yet to come. A
common suggestion (pun intended) used to be the Common Market nations --
until the membership went beyond ten.
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• Historicists see it
as the ten fragments of the papal empire, usually given as the kingdoms of
the Vandals, Visigoths, Suevi, Alans, Burgundians, Franks, Britions, Huns,
Lombards and Ravenna.
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