There is a difficult prophetic passage in Revelation, some say the most difficult. Revelation 17:9-11 says-
“Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 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. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.” (Revelation 17:9-11)
Oh, boy, where do you start? OK, in the first phrase, it says ‘here is wisdom.’ To me, that means that the interpretation won’t be easy or obvious. It will take deeper study, but that it will be revealed to the one who seeks wisdom. James 1:5 makes that promise.
“The seven” past kingdoms (empires) are generally accepted to be Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Media-Persia and Rome past and/or Rome to come, or perhaps someone else. “The eighth” seems to be the antichrist which is part of the seventh.
Remember that in Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of the kingdoms (Dan 2:31-35), it was gold at the head, silver at the chest and arms, bronze torso and thighs, legs of iron and feet of a mixture of clay and iron. A side note, you notice two things of the statue’s metals: as they progress from head to toe, the metals become less expensive. Gold is the most precious metal, iron the least. Clay is worth nothing at all. But they also become stronger. Gold is the softest metal but iron is strongest.
The legs of iron are generally thought to be the split Roman empire. The Romans split their empire in 330AD when they allowed Constantinople to become a sister capital, and the kingdom was split east and west. (The feet of iron and clay are thought to the coming Tribulation kingdom.) So let’s look at Constantinople.
Now known as Istanbul, it is located in Turkey and is its largest city. Wikipedia says Istanbul has served as the capital of the Roman Empire (330–395), the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). That’s a lot of empires!
Now to the original verse in Revelation. The verse says that there were/are 7 kingdoms. Some say the 7th is Rome, and some say that the 7th could be the Ottoman Empire. Note the last part of the Revelation verse, ‘the beast is the eighth AND is of the seven’ could be satisfied by a ruler from the eastern leg of the statue that was part of Roman empire but not Rome itself.
The Ottomans existed as an empire for 500 years, disappearing in 1922 with the cessation of the office of Caliph (Ruler of all Muslims). Some believe the 7th Kingdom of Rev. 17:10 is the Ottoman Empire. Did you know that Constantinople is also a city on seven hills? If the 7th kingdom turns out to be the mentioned city situated in Constantinople, its loyalty to Islam may well form into the final one world religion of Islam.
Islamic eschatology is remarkably like a photographic negative of Christian end time prophecies with the antichrist, satan, and false prophet (unholy trinity). Muslim al-Mahdi and the Christian antichrist are described in similar terms.
John MacArthur said in his sermon The Grim Reality of the Last Days, “If you know history that the western part of the Roman Empire basically dissolved and the east survived for a thousand years or more so that at the time of the New Testament, sixty percent of the Roman Empire was land that is now under Muslim control…at least 60 percent”.
And that was a figure given back in 2011, the figure is probably much higher now. North Africa & The Levant is nearly 100% Muslim today in 2026. Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon were main provinces of the Roman Empire. Today, the majority of that total population is Muslim. Turkey also is 99% Muslim, which was also under the Roman Empire in Bible days.
“The vast majority of the Roman Empire in New Testament times is today under Muslim control and Islam is moving across the west rapidly in Europe, isn’t it? When you have a picture in Ezekiel 38, you have a picture of the Antichrist, Gog and you have the listing of eight nations, that will be a coalition for the Antichrist. All eight of those are Muslim nations, all eight of them. And they ring the Mediterranean to Libya. In Revelation 17:9 to 11 it says there were six kingdoms and then a seventh and finally an eighth. What is the seventh? Well there’s been a discussion about that, it well could be the Ottoman Turk Empire which lasted five hundred years and didn’t really fall until the modern era. The Turkish Empire was the last Caliphate which ended in 1923 and they’re waiting for the restoration when the Mahdi comes.” –end MacArthur segment from his sermon The Grim Reality of the Last Days
In today’s times, France particularly has seen a huge increase in Islam in just the last 10 years. Other influxes of Islam are occurring into Germany and the UK. As for France, Catholicism has declined by almost half, and Islam has grown to the 2nd largest religion in that country. Here are statistics from 2025:
A major concern of the report is the growth of the adult Muslim population from 0.5% in 1985 to 2% in 2000, 4% in 2009, 5.5% in 2016, and 7% in 2025. This makes Islam France’s second largest religion, with the steep decline in Catholicism from 83% (1985) to 43% (2025) and Evangelical Protestantism slightly behind at 4% compared to 1.5% in 1985. People with no religious affiliation have risen from 13% (1985) to 37% (2025). https://www.meforum.org/fwi/fwi-news/as-frances-muslim-population-grows-so-does-its-support-for-islamism
Here in the US, Islam is also growing exponentially. According to this June 2026 article, the number of Muslims in the US stands “between 4 and 4.5 million, or close to triple its size in 2000.” Tripling in numbers in just 5 1/2 years is worth noting.
It is entirely possible that the growth we are seeing in the number of Islamic adherents could well figure prominently in the last of the last days Tribulation era. Revelation 20:4 indicates that Christians are beheaded for their testimony of Christ. This is an activity and a manner of execution Muslims have long employed toward what they call ‘infidel’.
In fact, their Book 46 Hadith 37 says “I swear by Allah, in whose hand is my soul, that the descent of the Son of Mary on you as a just judge is very near. When he comes, he will break the cross, kill the pig, abolish the jizyah; and the wealth will increase so much that no one will accept it.”
On an Islamic site we read an explanation of that Hadith what the average Muslim interprets it to mean:
“According to our belief, Jesus did not die; he was raised to the sky. He lives in the sky with his worldly body. As it is seen in the hadith, he will come down to the earth close to the Day of Judgment and do good things: He will compensate for the spiritual destruction caused by Dajjal (Anti-Christ). It is stated that when he comes, abundance and welfare will increase; his improvements will not be in the spiritual field only; he will realize economic improvements too.”
“Breaking the Cross means the abolishment of Christianity and its elimination. If it is considered that the church is behind the West, which is the source of the agony of humanity today, the abolishment of the church means the defeat of the West, saving it from egoism and making it attain real humanity. When the West, which dominates the world politics and economy, accepts the truth, the whole humanity will attain peace. For, the hand of the West is behind all of the social mischiefs and unrests that disturb people. This “Western hand” lies behind all of the agonies of humanity.“
As I mentioned, the characters in Muslim eschatology are similar to ours in Christianity, except opposite. There’s the daijal, Isa (named Jesus but bears no resemblance to the true Jesus), the mahdi, and Allah.
The following is a summarization of Islamic Eschatology, authored by Richard Sheposh, housed at EBSCO under Research Starters. These are short, encyclopedia type summary articles giving inquirers a foundational overview of certain research topics. This summary is the clearest I’ve read concerning the complicated mish-mash that Islam is, under its various denominations and changes over time.
In Islam, Jesus (Isa) returns, but not to establish a kingdom for Christians. It’s to judge and kill any remaining Jews and Christians, and to establish Islam as supreme under Allah.
Islamic eschatology, summarized
“The Mahdi is a significant messianic figure in Islamic eschatology, prophesied to emerge near the end of the world to combat injustice and establish a global Islamic kingdom. The Mahdi, which means “Guided One,” is expected to appear during a period of great turmoil, leading a revolution against an evil entity known as al-Dajjāl, who is often likened to the antichrist in Christian belief. Beliefs surrounding the Mahdi vary notably between Sunni and Shia Muslims; Sunnis anticipate a wise leader from the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad, while Shia Muslims await the return of the twelfth imam, a historical figure believed to have been in hiding since the 9th century.“
“In many traditions, the Mahdi’s appearance will coincide with the return of Jesus, referred to as Isa in Islam, who will play a critical role in defeating al-Dajjāl and affirming the supremacy of Islam. The Mahdi’s reign is thought to last between seven to nine years, during which he will unite Muslims and non-Muslims alike under Islam. After this period, a final judgment by Allah is expected to culminate in the end of the universe. The Mahdi’s role and significance within Islamic eschatology reflect deep theological insights and varying interpretations within the broader Islamic faith.“
DOES Revelation 17 allude to a final global kingdom on earth of Islam? Time will tell. In the past I’ve thought that Catholicism would be the One World Religion of the last of the last days. But lately with the growth of the satanic religion of Islam, and the strange protection of Muslims by liberals, I think in my opinion, it is entirely possible that Islam will reign supreme in the end, and is in fact is very probable.
