8 "kings" = 8 high priests of the house of Annas in Rev. 17

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3Resurrections
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8 "kings" = 8 high priests of the house of Annas in Rev. 17

Post by 3Resurrections » Thu Feb 07, 2019 1:41 pm

It's understandable that there are those who may still be dubious about the subject of my previous post" 'kings of the earth' = HIGH PRIESTS of the land of Israel". This post is an illustration of the results we get when we put the names of 8 high priests into the rather enigmatic text about the 8 "kings" of Rev. 17:10-11. This is not an interpretation exclusive to me. I've found the same view introduced on two other websites, and for those who have not encountered this idea before, it deserves serious consideration.

For the sake of argument, let's propose that the 8 "kings" on the Rev. 17 Scarlet Beast really ARE 8 high priests. Why would I suggest these particular 8 high priests of the house of Annas, rather than any others, as fitting within this Rev. 17 prophecy? Because the "rulers" of the house of Annas were united as enemies against Christ during His entire ministry, as well as being united against the disciples after Pentecost (Acts 4:6 - "And Annas, the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest were gathered together at Jerusalem.") John the Revelator would have known every one of this group of men from the high priest Annas' family. PERSONALLY. (John 18:15 - "And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest." This nameless beloved disciple was the one who wrote the gospel of John.)

In addition, if these 8 "kings" are really those 8 high priests of the house of Annas, this aligns with the symbolism found in the Lazarus-and-the-Rich-Man parable. The "rich man" in that parable who "wore purple and fine linen" (the high priest's garb), and "dined sumptuously every day" (from the sacrificial offerings of the people), was meant to represent Caiaphas. The "crumbs" from this rich man's "table" were from the Temple's shewbread, that the beggar Lazarus wished he could share. The "gate" of this rich man's "house" was the gate of the temple.

After the rich man died, he told Father Abraham that he wished to warn his "5 brothers" that were of his "Father's house". Significantly, Caiaphas had 5 brothers-in-law; the sons of the patriarch Annas, who was represented by the "Father" in this parable. All of these 7 men of Annas' family served as high priests in the first century, one after another, and pretty much monopolized the high priesthood from AD 6 - AD 66. (The 8th high priest grandson of Annas had probably not been born yet as of the time Christ gave this parable about the other 7.) And just as in the parable, none of the members of Annas' family believed the risen Lazarus' testimony of who Jesus was, in spite of that testimony coming from a resurrected man (John 12:10-11).

Here is a list of those 8 high priest members of the house of Annas, and the years Rome appointed them to serve.

#1) Annas (Ananus) ben Seth (AD 6-15)
#2) Eleazar ben Ananus (16-17)
#3) Joseph Caiaphas (18-36)
#4) Jonathan ben Ananus (36-37, and 44)
#5) Theophilus ben Ananus (37-41)
#6) Matthias ben Ananus (43)
#7) Ananus ben Ananus (62 or 63)
#8) Mattathias ben Theophilus (65-66)

If we take this list of high priest "kings" of the house of Annas with their appointed terms in office, and put this information side by side with the Rev. 17:10-11 verses, we have a perfect match to the scripture's language. Here is how that passage reads, with the information in parentheses about the 8 high priests of Annas' family inserted below, interpreting how it matches the scripture's account.

"And there are seven kings: five are fallen"
(Five high priests of the house of Annas had been deposed or had died as of John's writing Revelation, which would be Annas, Caiaphas, Eleazar, Jonathan (murdered), and Matthias.)

"and one IS"
(One is still living in John's days as an ex-high priest, which would be Theophilus, because the books of Luke and then Acts were addressed to this "most excellent Theophilus" who lived at least until the early AD 60's, when Paul had been imprisoned - Acts 28:30.)

"and the other is NOT YET COME,"
(Ananus had not yet been appointed high priest as of the time John was writing.)

"and when he cometh,"
(When Ananus came into office in AD 62 or 63, meaning Revelation had to have been written BEFORE AD 62 or 63,)

"he must continue a SHORT SPACE."
(This refers to Ananus being deposed after only a brief 3 months in office, as punishment for orchestrating the murder of James the Just, Christ's brother. This went beyond the limits of his authority, so he was kicked out by the new, incoming governor Albinus.)

"And the beast that WAS,"
(The Scarlet Beast, representing an independent kingdom nation of Israel, which had once come into existence under the Maccabees around 142 BC,)

"and IS NOT,"
(The Scarlet Beast "Is not" in existence when John was writing, because that independent kingdom nation of Israel was lost when Pompey incorporated it into the Roman Republic in 63 BC. The disciples admitted the loss of this kingdom, when they asked Christ in Acts 1:6 if the time had come for Him to "restore the kingdom to Israel".)

"even he is AN EIGHTH,"
(That Scarlet Beast was linked to the identity of the 8th king, because that independent kingdom nation of Israel would be revived again after the AD 66 Zealot rebellion kicked off its Roman yoke, led by the last, 8th member of Annas' family - Mattathias ben Theophilus, the grandson of Annas, serving as high priest from AD 65-66.)

"and is OF THE SEVEN,"
(Mattathias, grandson of Annas, had descended from that family of 7 high priests.)

"and goes into destruction."
(Because in AD 67, the Zealots got rid of the entire appointed high priesthood system by casting lots for someone to fill that position who would be a puppet high priest under their control - i.e. Phannias ben Samuel.)

Isaiah 24:21-22 once prophesied that these "kings of the earth" (the high priests) would be punished with imprisonment in Jerusalem at a time when "the earth" (tes ges - the land of Israel) would be shaken, utterly broken down, and clean dissolved. It would then "fall, and not rise again" (Is. 24:20). At this same time of "the earth" (Israel) being dissolved, Is. 24:22 said that these "kings of the earth" would be "shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be FOUND WANTING". In Bible lingo, if you are "found wanting", that means you are GONE out of existence (II Kings 10:19, for one example). Jerusalem's tumultuous conditions in AD 66-70 under the warring Zealot factions destroyed the high priesthood and its members, with only two exceptions who fled to the Romans for protection before the end (Joseph and Joshua, as Josephus mentions in Wars 6.2.2).

This Scarlet Beast of an independent kingdom nation of Israel was doomed to destruction from the very beginning of its revived existence in AD 66. This Scarlet Beast that one "WAS, and IS NOT" (as John was writing Revelation), was "ABOUT TO ARISE" into existence again under the Zealot rebellion of AD 66, and then "go into destruction" a short time later (Rev. 17:8). This also dates Revelation to at least a pre-AD 66 date, just as the 7th "king" (Ananus, the 7th high priest above) dates Revelation to at least an even earlier pre-AD 62 or 63 date.

To me, the history of the high priestly family of Annas matches the order of events in Rev. 17 too closely to be merely circumstantial. Much more closely than the rather awkward fit of having these 7 kings represent emperors, because there really is no good way to explain the description of the 8th "king", if the 7 "kings" are from the group of 10 Roman emperors. And the great city, the harlot Jerusalem, never sat in a dominating position on top of 7 or 8 emperors. However, she WAS sitting in dominion over the high priesthood at that time, which included those 7 and 8th members of Annas' family who served in the high priesthood. And the great city, the harlot Jerusalem, WAS sitting on the 7 mountains that encircled the city of Jerusalem (the Mount of Olives, Mount Scopus, Mount Zion, etc.). In other words, the Scarlet Beast of Rev. 17 is entirely Judean in character and origin.

For those who think this Rev. 17 Scarlet Beast should be interpreted as the Roman empire with 7 and 8 emperors, that Roman Sea Beast of Rev. 13 is a completely different creature than the one in Rev. 17. There are actually THREE BEASTS presented in Revelation: the ONE Roman Sea Beast of Rev. 13:1, and the TWO "beasts of the earth" (the two from Rev. 6:8), which were the Land Beast coming from Israel in Rev. 13:11, and the Scarlet Beast found in the Judean wilderness in Rev. 17:3. But that's a subject for another post.

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