March 24 - The Great Prostitute (pt. 3)

March 24 – The Great Prostitute (pt. 3)
Revelation 17:4b-14

“…She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead: ‘ Mystery. Babylon the Great. The Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth.’ I saw that 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. 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 seven heads and ten horns. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will 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.” (Rev. 17:4b-8)

The cup is golden and beautiful on the outside, but filled with filth. Jeremiah tells us that when the earth drank from that cup they got drunk on it and then went mad.

The whore has a name written on her head. Early temple prostitutes would wear headbands with their names on them so they could be quickly identified by customers. John was astonished because she was completely drunk.

“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 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.” (Rev. 17:9-11)

We see the familiar phrase again, “This calls for a mind with wisdom.”

The angel tries to explain the seven heads on the beast. Again, just as it was with the explanation of the number 666 in Revelation 13:18, we don’t have a firm idea of who these seven kings are. There were Gentile kingdoms that opposed Israel throughout its history: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and then during John’s lifetime – the Roman Empire. That’s six. The seventh kingdom will be the future kingdom of the beast. The eighth king will come from the confederacy of the seventh kingdom, but will be given power directly from Satan himself.

At the time John was writing, five of the kingdoms had fallen. Rome was in power and the future would bring about the final power.

“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 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.” (Rev. 17:12-14)

The ten horns represent a confederation of kings around the world that will unite to give authority over their kingdoms to the beast. Many people reacted when the European Union was brought into being. There were originally ten nations that signed that agreement. However, since that time others have joined and skewed the number. I don’t think we need to worry about that quite yet.

These ten kingdoms will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb overthrows them. We’ll read about this battle in Revelation 19. The good news is that we are already assured of the outcome.