In chapters 17 and 18 we have a recap of the seven bowl judgments. By
and large the judgments recorded in chapter 16 describe the physical
impact of God's wrath upon the earth. Recall that the earth still
is under the sin curse (Genesis
3:17-21). While the bowl judgments
have many physical phenomena, we now will get a glimpse into how the
impostor religious system and the "puppet" governments of any remaining
countries will be treated.
In this and the following chapter, an angel will show John the
symbolic meaning or maybe in more understandable terms, the effects of
the
physical events on the emotional (Revelation
18:15-19), political (Revelation 18:3),
and economic
(Revelation
18:11-14) domains.
1 One of the seven angels who
had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the
punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
One of the seven ANGELS who had the seven BOWLS came and
said to me,
We first heard of these angels in
Revelation 15:1 ,6 ,7 ,8 and Revelation 16:1 . It is as if John
was puzzled by the judgments of the seven bowls and needed further
explanation. In particular, the final bowl judgment (Revelation
16:17-21) so distorts the earth
that geopolitical boundaries are erased. Governments are in shambles,
and economies are struggling. These effects of the GREAT EARTHQUAKE
needed further discussion.
"Come, I will show you the PUNISHMENT of the GREAT
PROSTITUTE,
Through the imagery of a GREAT PROSTITUTE, the angel will explain the
character, the life, and the end of Satan's imitation religious system.
The system is purposely devised to be confusing and deceiving. Right
until the end, the devil does not or will not let the simple truth of God's salvation gift come
forth.
who sits on many waters.
Verse 15 in this chapter explains
that the "waters" are "peoples, multitudes, nations and
languages." Since the expression "many waters" is used, it is clear
that
these next two chapters will be mostly symbolic.
That is not to say this concept is new. In the Old Testament, the
prophet Isaiah in
Isaiah 8:5-8 equates the waters of the Euphrates
River with the kingdom of Assyria. Assyria has always been a thorn
in the side of Israel much like the Satanic mock religious governments
have been to true believers.
2With her the kings of the
earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were
intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."
With her the KINGS of the EARTH committed ADULTERY and
A curious side of human nature is that when something rather scandalous
is made known, the person tends to want to investigate
it. The "prostitute" is just such a curiosity. Even the leadership of
the
EARTH is not immune to this phenomena (Proverbs
25:1-2-5-7). Little do they realize
that the allure of the "prostitute" (wicked) leads to ADULTERY.
From ages past, the KINGS of the EARTH are against God (Psalm
2:2). By this time in the tribulation
period, the KINGS (as part of the whole world -
Revelation 13:3-4) are totally involved
with the sea beast (antiChrist). The whole world has been deceived
(Revelation 18:3), and the
nations have gone mad (Jeremiah
51:5-10).
Prostitution implies cohabitation. The inference here is that the
socio-economic world will be merged into the religious world (or vice
versa).
James 4:4 points out this will not work.
The "prostitute" discovers this too (Revelation
17:16).
the inhabitants of the earth were INTOXICATED with the wine
of her ADULTERIES."
So intoxicating is this religious and socio-economic tryst, that those
who dwell on the earth (unbelievers of the TRUTH) are reeling about as
DRUNKARDS. This is totally opposite of believer's behavior
(2
Corinthians 4:1-6).
As Tim LaHaye points out in his book, Revelation Unveiled, 1 "In viewing the Hindus, Buddhists,
Confucianists, Taoists, Muslims, and primitive religionists, I have
found that none of them teaches the moral standards of God. Instead,
their practices are based on a loose form of behavior that permits
sensual
activities, producing guilt complexes that the religion in turn uses
to enslave its people in forms of personal sacrifice and self abuse
to atone for their own sin. The Babylonian religions of the world,
whether
they be Greek, Indian, African, Roman, or Chinese, are arrayed in gold,
precious stones, and costly array. They use mystery and idolatry."
To make this alliance complete, the full force of "instant"
marketing
will be brought to bear upon those who dwell on the earth. When
something
is seen "to be good" enough times, it is human nature to accept that
behavior as "OK" even though it is IMMORAL. With the true believers
taken from the earth by this time,
there
are precious few witnesses left to contradict the hype. The state of
the
earth is one acting as though it is on a collective BINGE. 1page 264
3. Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert.
There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with
blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.
Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a
desert.
John knows this feeling of being in the Spirit (Revelation
4:2).
In this state, John is protected from the ravages of the desert
(symbolically, Satan's imitation religious system). This desert is
an antichrist developed place (Daniel
9:24-27).
There I saw a WOMAN
This is not a rising feminist leader but rather she is used to
accentuate the sensual, enticing aspects of the false religious
system. Just as in television commercials, this WOMAN is used during
this
tribulation to sell a product, antiChrist's world empire.
(1) sitting on a SCARLET BEAST
The color of the beast is not mentioned in
Revelation 13:1 ;
however, Revelation 12:3 describes
a red dragon using the same characteristics. Recall the dragon was
the devil. Thus this WOMAN is being transported about the earth to do
her sales job by the devil. The scarlet color just reinforces that many
believers have shed their blood because they opposed this SCARLET
BEAST.
(a)
that was covered with blasphemous names
Blasphemy, by definition, is against God and the TRUTH (Revelation 13:5 ,6).
No need to expend energy
running down something that is rotten and filthy already. These names
are an attempt to disgrace God and to usurp His authority (on earth,
at least).
Here we also see the devil's need for names. Without a name, it is
difficult to receive accolades or to heap boastful kudos on devil
workers.
Compare this with our "Unknown-Name" Christ (Revelation
19:12).
(b) and had seven
heads and ten horns.
Many scholars believe the seven heads are a revived Roman
Empire. They use verse 9 to support
their conclusion. However, this is a fairly limited viewpoint. From
a symbolic view, this could be a way of saying seven major religions
merge into one world religion (perhaps out of the need to survive). Or
it could be interpreted as a succession of seven major religions. The
former probably is more logical as this one world "church" would be
supported by the political systems (10 of them - verse
12 ). It is left to the reader to determine the seven religions
most likely to merge.
4. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was
glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup
in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her
adulteries.
The woman was dressed in PURPLE and SCARLET,
From physics, purple is the combination of blue and red colors.
Symbolically, blue is heaven(ly) and red is earth(ly). Thus we again
see the earthly masquerading as religious (antiChrist at the head).
Bright colors are used in advertising to attract your attention.
Likewise the woman will attract those in power and ordinary persons
alike
using their earthly desires.
and was GLITTERING with gold, precious stones and pearls.
Contrast this adornment with how godly women are to be ADORNED (1
Timothy 2:9-15).
AntiChrist will use these items to honor a "god of fortresses" (Daniel
11:36-38-39). While much of the world
today has abandoned the "gold standard", in the end times, the
antiChrist
will revive it as standard payment/honor. This implies that electronic
or floating currencies will have failed, or that inflation after the
seal,
trumpet, and bowl judgments will have forced a return to these items as
the mediums of exchange.
She held a golden cup in her hand, FILLED with ABOMINABLE
THINGS and the FILTH of her adulteries.
What a contrast to the Lord's cup of His blood! Also, at this time,
those who drink of it are "guilty of the blood of the Lord"
(1
Corinthians 11:17-27-34).
MYSTERY
BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE
EARTH.
This title was written on her FOREHEAD:,
The devil has a need to know names. Without a name, it is
difficult to recognize a person's accomplishments, to take credit,
or to show pride. So it is not unusual for this woman to have a name
on her forehead. Furthermore, at the time the Revelation was written,
prostitutes wore a band around their forehead to indicate they were
"available". So, too, this woman is saying to the earth, "I am here,
choose me!" (Jeremiah
3:1-3-5)
MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF
PROSTITUTES AND OF THE
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
There are two previous mysteries in Revelation: 1) "mystery of the
seven stars" (Revelation 1:20) and 2)
"mystery of God" (Revelation 10:7). Those
two mysteries are good mysteries. This mystery is of the imitation
church and also is "spiritual" in nature. A mystery is associated with
any religion; for TRUE BELIEVERS, the mystery of Christ (Ephesians
3:1-4-13) and the mystery of the
gospel (Ephesians
6:10-19-20). To the earth (and
particularly those who took the mark of the beast), the religion of
this harlot also is a mystery.
Nimrod (name means 'the rebel') founded Babylon (Genesis
10:6-10-20) as the center of a cultist
and idolatrous religion. Historians indicate that it was Nimrod's
wife who championed this religion. Almost all religions that are
against
true God worship demonstrate some of the characteristics of that
Babylonian
religion. Throughout the Old Testament and even today, Jews have
struggled
to remain apart and untainted by the Babylonian influence.
Observation: One often hears militant Arabs use the phrase "the
Mother of all ....". Here, this woman is MOTHER of many other
PROSTITUTES.
She also is "the Mother of the ABOMINATIONS". These are not localized
to the Middle East but rather are "of the earth". Most likely the
abominations are forms of evil and idolatry (Deuteronomy
7:17-25-26). At this point during
the tribulation, the world will be practicing a unified religion that
is evil to its core and centered around idolatry (Revelation 13:4 ,15)
6. I saw the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the
blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.
When I saw her, I was
greatly astonished.
I saw the woman WAS DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD of the saints,
Many churches/religions claim they have many moral virtues, but if
they take the life from people (saints, witnesses of Jesus, or ordinary
people), they are exposed as not being the TRUE church (Revelation 16:5 -6)
It is this BLOOD which will be the evidence to seal the doom of the
apostate church (woman/Babylon). This blood is the guilty verdict
against them (Revelation
18:21-24).
Many scholars distinguish the use of 'saints' here to mean those
people who stood for righteousness and fought against idolatry and evil
prior to Christ. Recall that Babylon physically existed long before
Christ (Hebrews
11:32-38).
the BLOOD of those who bore TESTIMONY to Jesus.
It is difficult to understand why the devil thinks he can destroy us
by killing us. Apparently, he doesn't believe that the BLOOD of Jesus
is an everlasting life event.
Jesus knew, though, that the devil would try (Matthew
10:16-23).
The expression "drunk with the blood" has been used from old to mean
"lust for violence". It is in this context, the expression is used
here. Somehow, we, too, understand this through the use of words like
"jihad", "holy war", etc.
When I saw her, I WAS GREATLY ASTONISHED.
The anti-TRUE church/religion thrives on murder and bloodshed. It is
part of the "Babylonian" religious system to try to eliminate anyone
who doesn't believe what they believe (whatever that may be). To think
that was only in the past is faulty thinking. It still is going on
today, and among liberal churches it includes abortions ..... how can a
tiny heart in a fetus not be pumping the very BLOOD being talked about
here?
I feel that what caused John to be GREATLY ASTONISHED was the
duration and
intensity of this DRUNKENNESS. While he personally grieved over the
violent losses of fellow apostles, this must have been overwhelming to
him when he
saw this vision.
This verse concludes the vision (verses 1 - 6); the interpretation
by the
angel follows.
7. 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.
Then the ANGEL said to me: "Why are you
ASTONISHED?
This is the angel (verses 1and 3
) who came from the temple with one of
the seven bowls. I point this out because this implies that what is
to be shown to John (and us) is spiritual in nature. To be sure, there
are physical attributes portrayed, but they have spiritual meaning.
That this angel is going to 'coach' John is not unusual. This is what
angels do (Psalm
104:1-4 (see footnotes) and
Hebrews 1:4-14). However, it is curious how
the angel knew that John was ASTONISHED. Either John verbalized his
'spirit thoughts' (verse 3), or the angel
read John's thoughts. Less likely, John's facial expression showed
his ASTONISHment. We probably have no idea what our guardian angel
knows
about us!
One could read this to be a mild rebuke. It's like saying,
"John, aren't you aware of spiritual events around you?" More than
a few times, people have told me, "I study the Bible but I skip the
Revelation because it's too hard to understand". If you are reading
this,
praise God, you are making an attempt to be spiritually alert.
I will explain to you the MYSTERY
See verse 5 for a discussion
of MYSTERY in the Bible.
(1) of the WOMAN and
Part of John's ASTONISHMENT may be that the BEAST is carrying
her (instead of devouring her). This may be the first time that John
realizes the WOMAN, the immoral and idolatrous religious system during
the tribulation, is directly involved with the BEAST, the dictator of
a unified church-state totalitarian regime - the devil's twisted
spiritual
empire.
(2) of the BEAST she rides, which has the seven HEADS and ten
HORNS.
The BEAST is introduced to us in Revelation
11:7 . We see him described in similar terms in
Revelation 13:1-8 . Lastly his destruction
is told in
Revelation 19:19-20.
The angel now proceeds to try to unravel the MYSTERY. He will start
with the BEAST in the next verse .
8. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come
up out of the Abyss and go to his 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 he once was, now is not, and yet will come.
Clearly this is visual imagery used to depict something spiritual.
Recall the angel who is speaking here came from the temple (Revelation 15:6). Saying
that John "SAW" this, denotes that these predictions are taking place
in the time frame of the vision (not during John's lifetime on the
island
of Patmos (Revelation 1:9) as some
commentators indicate).
once WAS,
now IS NOT, and
WILL come up out of the ABYSS and go to
his DESTRUCTION.
This is the believer's view of how Satan is trying to emulate the TRUE
MESSIAH. Apparently, Satan believes if he is successful, he can make
himself God since he, Satan, has given his power(s) to the BEAST (Revelation
13:1-4). Normally the ABYSS is 'locked',
but in Revelation 9:1 ,
Satan is given the keys to the ABYSS. The way this verse puts it, there
isn't much time for the BEAST to leave the ABYSS and then go to
DESTRUCTION (Daniel
5:22-28).
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
Satan's purpose is to deceive, first, God's chosen people to
believe that the BEAST is their long awaited Messiah. The deception
is so good that, second, many non Jews will be caught up in this too.
This is what is meant by "whose names have not been written in the BOOK
of LIFE".
Also, this portion of scripture is NOT proof that you are predestined
for heaven if your name IS written in the BOOK of LIFE from the
FOUNDATION of the world. Scripture clearly teaches that mankind has
made and can make choices. Rather, this portion shows that the eternal,
all-knowing God knows what your choices will be. By God's grace, you and I still can make the choice to follow
Jesus Christ as the TRUE Messiah. Sadly, those earthy inhabitants
at the time of this vision WILL BE ASTONISHED if they made the
right choice.
when they see the BEAST, because he
once WAS, now IS NOT, and yet WILL COME.
This is a restatement of the first part of this verse but this time it
is from the non-believers viewpoint. These people have a nagging
suspicion that they have been deceived. They HOPE upon HOPE that the
BEAST WILL COME to set up the ultimate kingdom. But the BEAST is
destined for DESTRUCTION.
9. "This calls for a mind with wisdom. The
seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also
seven kings.
"This calls for a mind with WISDOM.
Wisdom and understanding in end time visions require awareness or the
ability to calculate (Daniel
12:5-10-13 and Revelation 13:18).
This sentence
is placed here to say, in effect, "Don't predetermine what the content
of this triplet of verses (verses
9-11) may mean." (Romans
11:33-36)
Ever since the seven angels came from the temple with the seven bowl
judgments (Revelation 15:8 and Revelation 17:1), the context of this
scripture is spiritual. To try to place this triplet into geopolitical
terms (mostly Rome) is not demonstrating WISDOM in my viewpoint.
Rather,
we must continue to be alert to current events to recognize when these
things
will come to pass (perhaps within our lifetimes???). This is equivalent
to having oil in the lamps in anticipation for the wedding (Matthew
25:1-13).
The seven HEADS are seven HILLS on which the woman sits.
Consistently throughout Revelation, the number seven indicates
completeness. Then this portion means that the seven HEADS are the
complete organizational embodiment of the evil power of the beast.
Also, the woman,
the socioreligious organization in power at this time, is freely
transported
worldwide by the beast. That is, there will be no travel restrictions
on those who have taken the mark of the beast. Note, though, that the
beast puts up with this arrangement as long as the woman is useful to
him
(verse 16).
With the hindsight of September 11th, one could argue this represents
seven major terrorist cells operating worldwide. What little we do know
of al Qaeda, it has strong
religious overtones and is well funded with
"oil money" (Revelation 18:15).
They are also seven KINGS.
Nearly all commentaries try to identify these KINGS as either great
empires or great leaders. Many try to name specific empires, but, this
is risky in light of the first part of this verse.
The most that should be said is that seven is the number of completion
in Revelation. Therefore, this should be interpreted as being the sum
of the "character" of the beast. Furthermore, since the Bible is
primarily an "Abraham" book, the Jewish and Arabic viewpoints should be
predominant.
10 Five have fallen, one is,
the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a
little while.
This is the middle verse of the triplet which explains the seven heads
of the beast.
Five have fallen,
At the time this vision/explanation is happening, five spiritual eras
or entities (this verse doesn't distinguish) that have tormented
the Jews will have disappeared. While they could have been empires in
the distant past of Jewish history, they could also be abstract
entities
which have spiritual impact. For example, they may be humanism (Genesis
3:1-7), naturism (Romans
1:24-25), atheism (1
John 5:6-10-12), polytheism (1
Corinthians 8:1-6), or materialism (Revelation
18:9-16). After the 7 seal judgments, the
7 trumpet judgments, and the 7 bowl judgments, these KINGS (kingdoms)
are likely to be greatly diminished.
We know that the beast (devil) has kingdoms. He tried to give them to
Jesus if only Jesus would worship before the devil (Luke
4:5-8). Apparently, at this point in the tribulation,
five of these kingdoms, whatever they may be, are done away with.
one is,
Relative to our lifetime, this probably is the Moslem world. However,
this also could be hypocrite Christianity (Matthew
7:21-29).
the other has not yet come;
Since this is beyond our relative horizon, we cannot know what
this seventh KING (kingdom) is. We do know that the Antichrist is part
of it (next verse).
but when he does come, he must remain for a little while.
This final attempt at suppressing or exterminating God's chosen people (see verse 14) will only last a
short time (as in Revelation 12:12).
What is striking about this phrase is its indefiniteness. Normally,
earlier in the Revelation, times are very precise (Revelation 9:5 , Revelation
9:15 , and Revelation 11:3). Perhaps
it is written
this way so that the devil will not know how much "little while" he
has.
He can read or hear scripture, too.
11 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 BEAST who was, and now is not, is an EIGHTH KING.
This verse restates verse 8 . This is
the same BEAST described in
Revelation 13:1-8 . The conclusion then is that this
is the antiChrist himself.
"who once was" refers to his mortal life, "now is not" refers to his
apparent
dearth, and "is an eighth" denotes his 'resurrection' into his
supermortal life. To Jews still looking for the Messiah, the antiChrist
through his imitation of Jesus' life, crucifixion, and resurrection is
very convincing. Jesus himself had warned this would happen (Mark
13:14-23). Ironically, for Jews to accept the antiChrist
as the Messiah, the antiChrist must either be a Jew or an exceptional
impostor.
To be the EIGHTH means that not only does the antiChrist wholeheartedly
participate in the wickedness of all the seven kingdoms, but also is
the embodiment of this wickedness in superhuman form. The dragon (Revelation 13:4) has given
him a personal pride and arrogance which will set him apart from all
other mortals. See the "little horn" of
Daniel 7:8 .
He belongs to the SEVEN
In the previous verse, we defined the SEVEN as abstract concepts. They
could just as easily be socioreligious entities such as Protestants,
Catholics, Buddhists, Moslems, Jews, and such. We are not given a clue
what the seven "kingdoms" are; so the reader/student of the Revelation
MUST ever be aware of the world's religious landscape. Since the Bible
is
so closely tied to the Jews, God's chosen people, true believers must
ever watch events in Israel. Interestingly, even the secular press
instinctively knows this and gives disproportionate news coverage about
Israel
and is going to HIS DESTRUCTION.
After "remaining a little while" (previous verse),
this simple sentence marks the end of the BEAST. Revelation 19:20 identifies
the location of this DESTRUCTION.
This verse completes the triplet of verses concerning the seven
heads of the BEAST.
without geopolitical boundaries but nonetheless an operational
unit, e.g. al Qaeda.
but who for one hour will receive AUTHORITY as KINGS with the
BEAST.
If you take the
Daniel 9:27 one week as the seven years of tribulation
as most scholars do, then this one hour is roughly 15 days. On the
other
hand, if you take
2 Peter 3:8-13 , then we have a time range of a hundred
of a second to 41+ days. Given these large time conversion differences,
many scholars take this to mean for a brief period of time.
Due to the precision of time in the rest of Revelation, this probably
is a literal one hour. The 9/11/2001 initial acts took place within one
hour so this is plausible. One cannot be sure how long one hour is,
though, at this time in the tribulation given the "time changes" that
may have occurred during earlier judgments (for example, the fourth
trumpet in Revelation 8:12).
13 They have
one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.
The description of the ten horns (KINGS) continues from the previous verse .
They have one purpose
Usually political kingdoms can't agree. Consider how many countries
have been formed due to ethnic differences alone. Even in the Mideast
where one would hope to find unity among ethnic lines, we find many
splinter (often violent) organizations. So something unusual has taken
place to cause
this oneness of purpose.
and will give their POWER and AUTHORITY to the BEAST.
Strange way to put this since the BEAST is a "puppet" regime too (Revelation 13:2). Or another view,
the devil uses these 10 short-term rulers, powers, and world forces of
this darkness (Ephesians
6:10-20) to fulfill Revelation
13:2 .
14They will make war against
the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords
and King of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful
followers."
They will MAKE WAR AGAINST THE LAMB,
This is just a statement of what actually happens in
Revelation 19 . This is a spiritual WAR
and fulfills the prophesy given in
Zechariah 14:1-2 .
but the LAMB WILL OVERCOME THEM
This fulfills the continuation of the prophesy in
Zechariah 14:3-8 . The details of how this will be accomplished
are given in
Revelation 19:11-21 .
Recall that the sword comes from Jesus mouth (Revelation
1:16) which means this WAR
is a war of words of TRUTH (John
14:1-11). The words will be spoken by One who has AUTHORITY
(verses physical control of the earth; although the Lamb has that
also).
It is the same AUTHORITY
15. Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the
prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.
Then the angel said to me,
This most likely is the same angel speaking in verses 1and 7 . Most often throughout the Revelation, angels
are talking with John. The major exception, of course, is the original
command
to write the book of the Revelation (Revelation
1:10-19).
"The WATERS you saw, where the PROSTITUTE sits, are
This expression seems a bit odd. When one sits on water (unless it is
ice), one sinks under. However, read how Jesus describes the last days
in
Luke 21:25-28 and His use of the sea and the waves. While
the literal sea and waves may be "roaring" causing perplexity, if water
is the container of spirit(s), then this verse here in Revelation
indicates
that the PROSTITUTE will control or suppress any of the raging
opposition
to
the beast (and the 10 kings). As a sidelight, look how much the 10
kings
appreciate what the socioreligious organization (PROSTITUTE) did for
them (next verse).
Finally, the way this angel talks about "the WATERS", he may well be
the angel of the WATERS (Revelation
16:4-7). The use of the past tense "SAW", indicates
that the third angel has poured out his bowl already.
PEOPLES, (individuals) MULTITUDES, (groups of individuals) NATIONS (individuals within physical boundaries)
and
LANGUAGES (individuals within ethnic
cultures).
It is clear that this includes every being with a
soul. Considering the major calamities the earth has gone through with
the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments, it is amazing that these people
are not dispersed and off seeking their own revenge or salvation.
However, these people are under the total control of the Babylonian
PROSTITUTE (socioreligious empire).
One should be aware that from these same WATERS, we, the redeemed, have
come (Revelation 5:9). Praise the Lord
that we are FROM these WATERS and not IN THEM (John
15:18-19-27)!
16. 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.
The BEAST and the ten horns you saw
This is a reference back to verse 12 . These are
"evil" horns as they are on the BEAST. But there are "good" horns too (Revelation 5:6). So again we see the
conflict
between "good" and "evil" (Genesis
2:15-17). This conflict has kept all of us from the tree
of life (Genesis
3:20-24 and
Revelation 22:1-2,18-19 ). Since these horns are located on the
head,
where "thinking" takes place, this indicates that the four steps below
are
a CONSCIOUS effort.
1) will HATE the PROSTITUTE.
The ten leaders will openly start showing contempt for the
socioreligious consortium (prostitute) now in control of the earth.
However, because the BEAST wants everything, even this consortium must
go. He, the BEAST, wants to control the entire earth himself. This
implies that the ten leaders are puppet regimes.
Throughout history, it is not unusual for political organizations to
tolerate or even embrace religion when it deems it convenient or
expedient. Yet underneath, one gets the sense that there is a mistrust
between both parties. Hatred and envy work like that.
2) They WILL BRING her to RUIN and LEAVE her NAKED;
After the hatred comes the conscious effort to deprive the consortium
of its wealth. With the funding removed, the supporters will quickly
leave, leaving the consortium NAKED. At this point the religious part
of the consortium has nothing to offer, and the consortium loses its
power to rule.
3) they will eat her FLESH and
Just as the flesh is the outward appeal of our physical body, so, too,
the appeal of the consortium disappears. The consortium is taken over
(eaten) by the ten leaders and the BEAST.
The FLESH here is used in similar manner as Micah (Micah
3:1-4) and David (Psalm
27:1-6) used this expression. It is the deliberate consuming
of life sustaining organization.
4) burn her with FIRE.
This is consistent with the Old Testament punishment for Levitical
prostitution (Leviticus
21:1-9). The socioreligious consortium will be totally
eradicated. The ten leaders do not want this alliance to ever become
viable
again. Be aware however, that this is one of the ways a strong God executes judgment.
17For God has
put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give
the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled.
For God has put it into their hearts to ACCOMPLISH HIS PURPOSE
Even in judgment, God's plan ALWAYS is accomplished. Mankind may
believe
that they control a 'KINGDOM' (Psalm
75:6-8), but, at best, they can really
only make choices for themselves individually . This is
particularly
true in spiritual matters. God doesn't accept the notion of 'power of
attorney'
or 'class actions'.
The transfer is complete. In verse 13 , just their
power and authority were given. But now these 10 horns give their
POWER TO RULE
(singular, implying they were only governors in a larger KINGDOM) to
the
BEAST.
until GOD'S WORDS are fulfilled.
While these WORDS may be taken to refer only to those spoken here in
the Revelation of Jesus Christ, in a broader sense, they are those
spoken throughout eternity (that we know about through the Bible). They
would include the
creation (Genesis
1:3-5 through
Genesis 3:22-24), and correlate with the redemption process (Revelation 5:1). Before the "sin curse" was
placed on the earth, God spoke and saw that "it was GOOD" (physically
and
spiritually). God now is using evil leadership to separate evil from
good
or the tares from the wheat (Matthew
13:24-30). Once the tares are burned, the earth can be returned
to its "GOOD" status. Interestingly, it doesn't matter what status in
life
a person has attained. Whether primitive native or sophisticated
socialite,
politician or common citizen, highly educated or intellectually
challenged,
one always struggles with spiritual/moral values. See the list in
Revelation 21:8 of those persons who
choose
the wrong values.
18 The woman
you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."
The WOMAN you saw is THE GREAT CITY
Several times Babylon (the name of the WOMAN), is referred to as GREAT (Revelation 17:5 , Revelation
14:8 , Revelation 16:19 , and Revelation 18:10). One senses that THE
GREAT
CITY is not a specific city but rather refers to a large collection of
people
(that really is what cities are). In particular, these are people whose
names
are NOT written in the book of life (verse 8). They
have
openly and angrily directed their hatred at believers (names written in
the
book of life) to the point of spilling the believer's blood (verse 6).
Most often in the past, scholars have placed the GREAT CITY as Rome
with its papacy or Jerusalem (Revelation 11:8).
If one considers that since the bowl judgments, most of the Revelation
is
spiritual in nature, then Jerusalem makes good sense. Both Jews and
Arabs, religiously, uphold Jerusalem as one of their most sacred cities.
that rules over the KINGS of the EARTH."
Since the 10 kings/horns are not mentioned here specifically, this has
a broader meaning. It means all the world's leadership at this time of
the tribulation.
Most likely there will only be one worldwide government which will have
expunged
organized religion (see verse 16). With the Beast
(AntiChrist)
now the only one left to worship, the only things remaining to be
purged
from the earth are the evils of idolatry and its friend, greed. As we
will
see in the next chapter, verses 8 and
11-19 , this economic structure too will be gone.
The difficulty we have in interpreting this verse is that we have a
hard time imagining what will be left of this earth after the seals,
trumpets, and bowls judgments. Certainly the population will have been
severely reduced (Revelation 6:8 and Revelation 9:15), geography mostly
rearranged
and flattened (Revelation 16:20), and
the
World Health Organization will be backlogged trying to catalog and
understand
all the new medical plagues being experienced by the people (Revelation 16:2). All organized religion
will
be wiped out in favor of only worshipping the AntiChrist/Devil. One has
to
ask, what are the KINGS of the EARTH really controlling.........and
what
is the WOMAN controlling when she/they are reigning over the KINGS of
the
EARTH?