Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Revelation 17:3-8

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3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 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. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery: Babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. 6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 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. 8 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. ~ Revelation 17:3-8

Today, we continue our study of Revelation 17, and the Apostle John is led into a wilderness. In this chapter we learn of a coming world revival, a revival of religion that exalts man and minimizes God. Today, this religion is already in so-called Christian universities and some churches. One day it will overtake the world. 

The Lord delivers this vision to John in the context of a wilderness. And, we know that Satan is the master counterfeiter. We have seen this clearly during our study of the book of the Revelation. He will be the originator of this coming counterfeit world religious system. Satan's counterfeit system will always lead us to a place where there is no water. And, in the scriptures, water is symbolic of finding the Lord.

We have seen, in this study, the figure of a woman used as a symbol of a religious system. In Revelation 2:20, Jezebel represents a false religious system at Thyatira. In Revelation 12 a woman represents the nation of Israel. And, in Revelation 19, we will see the church represented as the virgin bride of Christ. 

Here in Revelation 17 is an unfaithful woman. Her unfaithfulness is expressed through prostitution. The will be a system that claims to be joined to God, but, like a prostitute, will be unfaithful to Him. Adultery is often a symbol in the Bible of spiritual unfaithfulness. 

In v.3 of today's text we read, "Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns."

One of the things that will make the great tribulation so awful is the fact that Satan will be allowed to have more control over the earth. The restraints will be removed. In Revelation 12, the demons will be cast to the earth. In Revelation 6, thousands of demons that have long been chained at the Euphrates river will be released to cover the earth. There will be heightened demonic activity everywhere. This will result in increased deception that will come upon planet earth.

The beast in v.3 will have seven heads and ten horns. According to v.9 the seven heads will be seven mountains. And, according to v.18 the woman will be the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. This will be the city on seven hills, namely Rome. The ten crowns will represent a ten nation confederacy. This will be the last kingdom of the antichrist. 

In v.4 we read, "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."

Here, this religious system will wear all the colors of worldly honor and riches. She will display her pride through the wearing of her precious gold, stones and pearls. She will be given to the sensual and she will appeal to the sensuality of worldly minds.

In v.5 we read, "The name written on her forehead was a mystery: Babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth." 

Notice this verse is written from God's perspective. This is God's view of this counterfeit system. The name, Babylon, is mentioned 287 times in the Bible. In one place, Jerusalem is called Babylon. Whenever Babylon is noted and characterized, she is identified as a false religion. And whenever you have any group or city or system characterized by false religion, it is called Babylon in the Bible. 

In Genesis 10, we are introduced to a guy by the name of Nimrod. He was the fourth generation from Noah. His grandfather was Ham, the wicked son of Noah. After the Flood, God told the people to fill the earth, to scatter, and to multiply. But some of his descendants clung together and came to the plain of Shinar.

In Genesis 11, they decided, "Let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens. Let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." 

There's nothing wrong with building a city but notice their philosophy. Let's build a city for ourselves. This city was conceived in rebellion. They exalted themselves and degraded God. Though they were human-centered, at the same time they were religious. They built a tower that reached to the heavens. They recognized their spiritual need but they sought to fill that need for God with religion. History tells us that at the top of these Babylonian towers, was a platform with the zodiac and it was officiated by a priest who would officiate over the signs of the zodiac and predicted the future for people. 

Ancient documents tell us that Nimrod had a wife. Her name was Simuramis and she had a son named Tomuz whom she said was not conceived by a man but a sun beam from heaven shone on her belly and she conceived. Being a virgin, she conceiving Tomuz whom she said was the savior of the world. 

Tomuz grew up and as he grew up, playing out in the field, he was gored by a wild boar, and was killed. Simuramis wept over the death of her son and after forty days, supposedly, he rose from the dead. The counterfeit Satan has long been known to copy God. A false religion, a virgin-born savior of the world who died and rose again. 

As the world was scattered, Simuramis and Tomuz were worshiped as the mother and child. In fact, she was called in Babylon the queen of heaven and many cultures worshiped this combination together. In fact, in Nineveh, she was called Ishtar, In Phoenicia, she was called Ashtoreth and he was called Baal, the child. In Egypt, she was called Isis and he was called Osiris. In Greece, she was known as Aphrodite and he was called Aras. In Rome, she was Venus and he was Cupid. In Rome, the emperor was officiated over this cult for he was the Pontific Maximus or the greatest high priest.

In v.6 we read, "I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished."

There will be an alliance between the beast and its followers, and they will be allied against God's people. Every false religious system has always persecuted God's people. In fact, there is a conditioning right now going on in the world and we see it in our country, a conditioning toward the elimination of people who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In v.7-8 we read, "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."

The beast will be the same beast of Revelation 13 that received a fatal wound to his head but will be resurrected. The Bible says the false prophet, by this sign, will cause the world, at this point, to worship the Antichrist.