What we see here is tied with the seventh bowl of
the wrath of God. John was informed by the angel with the seventh bowl of what
is to come. This new vision is actually a close-up look of the particular
phases of the seven bowls. It includes a description of the woman and the beast,
then an explanation of the figures, and only after that the final judgment. John
was told he will see the punishment of “the great prostitute who sits on many
waters”. Being carried by the Spirit away into the wilderness is by way of saying
that he was made to focus and concentrate on the participants in this
particular scene.
The great harlot is identified in Revelation 17:5
as Babylon the great. It accounts for why she is said to be sitting on many
waters because the actual Babylon was located on the River Euphrates. But we
know that John was not referring to Babylon per se but using it as a symbol. Babylon
is a figure for all of the godless attempts of nations to rise to power and
dominance, following the ways of the beast in conflict with God and His course.
That’s also why she is described as one “…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.” Although the title
is Babylon, John was referring to Rome and its imperial cult and emperor worship.
Besides sitting on many waters, the harlot is said to be sitting
on a scarlet beast full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. Who is
this beast? It
is the beast that rose out of the sea in chapter 13. The great persecuting
power that rules by force and is the supreme enemy of Christ and the church.
The scarlet color is primarily descriptive and heightens the terrifying
appearance of the beast. Blasphemous names cover its entire body very likely
referring to the blasphemous titles of divinity claimed by the Roman emperors. The
blasphemies are seen in their self-deification.
This mother of whore, full
of arrogance and confidence, sits on top of the monstrous beast. Both the whore
and the beast are fully compatible. She makes known her immoral intentions. This
is a picture of godlessness. There will be strivings for power, wealth,
pleasure, and luxury. All these done at the expense of fidelity to God and without
regard for justice and the needs of fellow man. This whore is described as drunk
and intoxicated with the blood of Christians who sacrificed their lives for the
testimony of Jesus. The outward
appearance of the whore may be magnificent but the inside of her is full of
abomination and disgusting stuff that will make one puke.
John was perplexed. He anticipated the punishment
of the harlot but not to see her in all her glory. So to help him with his
perplexities, the angel explained. The beast, the one who was and who is not,
will come out of the Abyss and be destroyed. The inhabitants of the earth are those
whose names have not been written in the book of life before the foundation of
the world.
How are we to understand the last phrase in verse
8, “…the beast that he was
and is not and will come”? God is presented as the unchangeable. He is
always the same, the One, Who was, and Who is and Who is to come. The beast is
not immutable. He changes all the time. This was a characteristic of the beast
throughout the history of man, the continual rise and fall of evil powers.
The description of all
these should make us, who live with the exposure of all the modern indulgences,
take a good look at ourselves, and carefully consider how we want to please
God. He is worthy of only our very best in life!
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