Revelation 17: 1-18
John has written about the whole process of judgment on the Earth and on those who dwell here who have wickedly destroyed the Earth and the world and the people of the world and for all the evil done. This is a good place to pause and look at something mentioned before, to give more details. Just as in Genesis chapter one we read about the whole creation; then chapter two narrows down the focus to the details of the creation of the man and the woman.
This chapter and the next will focus our attention on the falling of Babylon, which we read about in Revelation 14: 8 when the "second angel" pronounced it.
(1) Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
(2) "with whom the kings of the Earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the Earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."
This focuses on the moral degradation to which this people has fallen.
(3) And he carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness;
The angel is giving John a vision of how this will happen, he is in the spirit, not in his body, seeing all this.
and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
(4) The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,
(5) and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth."
The beast that carries the woman is a government that has acquired all kinds of "blasphemous names" which could be unrighteous laws and decrees that allow evil practices or that forbid righteous deeds.
(6) And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.
Violence and bloodshed are similar to alcohol in its affects on the brain, and this woman has caused much violence and bloodshed against God's people, and the witnesses of Jesus could be the "two witnesses" in whose murder she is complicit. She is reeling in the drunkenness of all the bloodshed.
When I saw her I wondered greatly.
John is flabbergasted with all the unleashed evil that has taken over this "woman."
(7) And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
The angel says, Why are you just standing there dumbfounded? I'll let you in on what has happened here.
(8) "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction.
The abyss is the bottomless pit that was unlocked by the star when the fifth trumpet was sounded, so it is not the same beast that comes out of the sea in chapter 13. That beast will become the world dictator. This beast is the power behind the government of this "city" of Babylon.
And those who dwell on the Earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.
People who don't know the Lord will greatly admire this government and have great respect for its power that it can influence other governments. It may be represented by someone who used to hold political power, but disappeared from public office, then returned.
(9) Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,
Theologians used to use this verse to conclude that this harlot is the Catholic Church, as it sits on the "seven hills of Rome." But hills are not mountains.
This beast itself is the government of the "city." The heads could be the men who are in power in this government. And Scripture uses the figure of a mountain to convey political power. The woman sits on these mountains, they are supporting her weight.
(10) "And they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
We are told outright here, that they are seven men who style themselves as kings. They are not all in power at the same time, some have already fallen out of favor by this time, and another hasn't come into public view yet. It seems to be a volatile political situation.
(11) "The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
And the government itself, or the principal head of the government, is also included in the number here, and he also will be judged severely.
(12) "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.
(13) "These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
Horns are used in Scripture to convey military power. These ten could be a coalition of great military leaders. But when they receive their authority it will only be for a specific purpose at a very limited time.
(14) "These will wage war against the Lamb,
These will be among the other armies who are surrounding the Holy Land and Jerusalem, and will end up fighting against the Lamb of God who is Jesus, at the Battle of Armageddon.
and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."
When Jesus breaks through the cloud barrier and His feet land on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14: 4), all His saints and angels will be following His lead (His "holy ones") including the resurrected ones who have been Raptured.
(15) And he said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
All kinds of peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues have gathered in the "melting pot" of the world, but are refusing to "melt" into the culture, and insist on maintaining their own languages and cultures and societies. This is a reality today in America. And this harlot has been supported by all of these diverse groups.
(16) "And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.
But the powers behind these groups turn against her, and strip her of her worth and treasure, and absorb her wealth, and cause fires to burn up her cities.
The news today and yesterday and the day before, are telecasting how the concerned people who come out to protest peacefully become angry mobs that loot, destroy and burn police cars and businesses. This is upsetting, but it is exactly what has been forecasted and predicted right here in this prophecy.
(17) "For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.
God has allowed the "powers that be," whether it is the Bilderback Group, or the Illuminati, or George Soros, or Bill and Melinda Gates, whoever has the will and the wherewithall to pay these puppets who are willing to foment violence for a fee! God is Almighty and uses even the most evil and depraved individuals to decide to do what God has decreed will happen, according to His great Plan of the Ages!
They are not supporting her any more, but have turned on her savagely.
(18) "The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the Earth."
This woman is the geographical populated area that has so much influence over all the other nations in the world that it is said to reign over them!
This is the spiritual and moral aspect of this "city" of Babylon.
Tomorrow we will see that it is also a financial wellspring that has been financing the wealth of the rest of the world.
O my Father, please help us to see what is going on around us, and to recognize when we are witnessing the fulfillment of Your prophecies. Open our eyes, Father, to understand where we stand in Your timeline for this Earth and Universe. Teach us to withstand the evil powers that are energizing all of these destructive events, and show us what we are to do to protect Your little ones in the midst of it all.
And, My Father, continue to send out Your children as Your witnesses and missionaries to broadcast Your Good News throughout the world so that every living person will hear and understand so they will make informed decisions to choose to accept Your gracious and generous gift of Salvation, or else to knowingly turn to the lies of the enemy.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is the only Lord and Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come hastily, Lord Jesus!
