Revelation 17:10

The seven kings are rulers over seven kingdoms. The prominent kingdom in John’s day that "is" was certainly the Roman Empire. The five most prominent world powers preceding Rome that had fallen are probably Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. [Note: Seiss, p. 393; cf. Ladd, p. 229; Walvoord, The Revelation . . ., p. 251; Alford, 4:710-11.] The Old Babylonian Empire may have been the first (Genesis 10:8-10). The seventh kingdom that was yet to come and would remain a little while is the beast’s kingdom (Revelation 13:3; Revelation 17:8). [Note: Thomas, Revelation 8-22, p. 298; Walvoord, The Revelation . . ., p. 254; Kelly, pp. 364-68.] All of these kingdoms have persecuted or will persecute God’s people (cf. Ezekiel 29-30; Nahum 3:1-19; Isaiah 21:9; Jeremiah 50-51; Daniel 10:13; Daniel 11:2-4). Another common view is that the number seven is symbolic and stands for the power of the Roman Empire as a whole. Some writers have interpreted the seven kingdoms as figuratively representing kings throughout history. [Note: E.g., Mounce, p. 315; Beckwith, pp. 704-8. Beale, p. 871.]