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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.”
“The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.”
“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.”
“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.”
Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish His purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
Revelation 17:7-18
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Chapter 17 in the Book of Revelation is centered on two figures, both evil and enemies of God. In yesterday’s message, we were introduced to both, one a woman figure who bore the following title on her forehead:
Babylon the Great
The Mother of Prostitutes
And of the Abominations of the Earth
The scriptures told us that she “was dressed in purple and scarlet” and “glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls”. In her hand was a “golden cup” that was “filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries”, and she was “drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus”.
This Mother of Prostitutes was “sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns”. This was none other than the antichrist, the monstrous beast summoned by Satan from the sea to deceive and draw the people of the world away from God. This beast had great success as most of the world’s people pledged their allegiance to him.
This is where we left off and as we turn to the closing verses of this chapter, we gain a lot more detail on these two wicked figures. Let’s look at those verses again here:
When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.”
“The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.”
“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.”
“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.”
Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish His purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” Vv. 7-18
Right away, we see where John was ‘greatly astonished” by what he saw, which really says something after everything he has bore witness to up to this stage in this book. Sensing John’s distress and confusion, we find the angel intervening and offering to “explain to” John “the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides”, starting with the latter.
In regard to “the beast”, the angel makes sure John knows that this was who he had seen prior who had “come up out of the Abyss” and will soon “go to its destruction”. This beast, the antichrist, would wield great powers of wicked influence and amaze “the inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life” (aka all those who refused to place their belief in Jesus).
The angel then starts to break down the meaning of the beast’s “seven heads and ten horns”, something that required “a mind with wisdom” to fully understand. He explains that the “seven heads” were “seven hills on which the woman sits” but also “seven kings”. We don’t fully know the identity of these seven hills or kings but we do know that they will join in allegiance with the antichrist, described as the “eighth king”, to oppose God and “wage war against the Lamb”.
After this, the angel explains the “ten horns” to John and these horns represented “ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast”. We read where they will use their hour to carry out “one purpose, to join in the war against the Lamb while giving “their power and authority to the beast”. The scriptures tell us that their efforts will ultimately end in vain because “the Lamb (Jesus) will triumph over them” due to Him being the “Lord of lords and King of kings”. We also read where the Lamb will be accompanied by “His called, chosen and faithful followers.”
As the chapter closes, we find the angel going back to the Mother of Prostitutes with some additional information about her and what John saw. First, she was “the great city that rules over the kings of the earth”. No one is sure about what city the scriptures are talking about here but we know that “the waters” where “the prostitute” was sitting represented “peoples, multitudes, nations and languages”, her influence being widespread over the nations and their populace. Such was her power.
Of interest, we learn that the antichrist (the beast) and “the ten horns” (the ten kings that would join the beast in battle against Jesus), would come to “hate the prostitute” and would “bring her to ruin”, leaving “her naked” before devouring “her flesh” and burning “her with fire”. It was very gruesome imagery but a fate suitable for a totally wicked entity who took pleasure in slaughtering Christian believers during her existence. And as the chapter ends, we are told that all that happened to the evil Mother of Prostitutes was initiated by “God” Himself who “put it into” the hearts of the ten kings “to accomplish His purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled”.
And with that, we move onto chapter 18 and a proclamation concerning the woman’s defeat. I hope you will rejoin me as we continue to advance toward Jesus’ return and its impact on all we know.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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