THE IDENTITY of the Beast and what its seven heads represent are two of the biggest unanswered questions in Christian theology.

This week, we begin a study of the seven heads which John was told represent “seven kings, five who have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while.” We present a list of human kings who might fit those clues, but we believe these kings are supernatural, not human.

The Beast itself is “an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.” The word translated “destruction” is the Greek apōleian, which is similar to Apollyon, the “Destroyer” who rises from the Abyss in Revelation 9. Is it the same word? If so, is there is a prophesied civil war among the Fallen during the end times? Or are we going too far to make this connection?

This much we know: We’ve only scratched the surface of this topic.