Revelation 17:1-18

(Revelation 17:1-18)

And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.  And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.  The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.  And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

 

Chapters 17-20 speak of the destruction of evil forces and the final judgment in the end. In it, Chapter 17 focuses on the destruction of the Great St. Babylon. One of the seven angels with seven bowls showed the apostle John the judgment that the great harlot sitting on the water would be. At this time, the term "indecent woman" appeared in the Old Testament when referring to primarily idolatrous Israel, and in this chapter the obscene woman refers to the great St. Babylon. The lewd woman refers to Babylon, but at the same time, it can be seen that it refers to the Roman resemblance to Babylon, who conquered Israel and destroyed the temple in Israel as well as plunged the world into fornication.

 

『 the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 』 The woman was dressed in red and mauve, symbols of wealth, luxury, and power, and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, and holding a gold cup in her hand. But these were the detestable things that God hated terribly, and the dirty things of his fornication. This woman was sitting on a lot of water.

 

At this time, water means people, crowds, nations, and tongues. In other words, it means the world (water under the ditch). When this woman is sitting on a lot of water, it means that the harlot is making an impact on the world. This woman engaged in real and religious fornication with the rulers and people of the world. Thus, it seems as if Rome is controlling and influencing the whole world. However, even if it seems so, it is said that in the end Rome will be judged.

 

The angel led John into the wilderness to show another thing, a woman riding a red beast. This woman is a big woman. And for the beast, he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 』. About the seven heads, 『And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 』

 

Seven heads mean seven mountains and seven kings. The seven mountains here mean Rome in the ancient world. This is because Rome was built on seven mountains. And there are several interpretations of the seven kings, which are interpreted as the seven kings of Rome, and also as the seven empires beginning with Egypt.

 

Taken together, the seven heads can be seen as all the forces that persecute God's people from the Roman Empire to the end of the world. After all, the beast can be thought of as any anti-Christian ruler or force against Christ and the Church. And it is said that this beast has ten horns, and these ten horns are recorded as ten kings. In other words, the ten horns can be seen as symbolizing the rulers of each region belonging to the Roman Empire. 『These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 』

It is said that the beast and the ten horns are a community of fate. And, it is expressed that the woman and the beast are also in an inseparable relationship. The fact that the woman rode a red beast, and that both the harlot and the beast were dressed in red, reveals that they are also a community of fate. However, the harlot and the beast cannot become a true community of fate. 『And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 』

There is a division between the woman and the beast. It is said that the woman, previously dressed in purple and red and adorned with all kinds of gold, precious stones, and pearls, will be naked by the beast and will be thoroughly destroyed. This shows the self-destructive nature of evil. In other words, evil itself cannot coexist and eventually leads to division and destruction. God sometimes uses this self-destructive nature of evil as an instrument of judgment. Therefore, nothing in the world is not under the sovereign control of God.

 

John's vision speaks very clearly about how the saints should live in relation to things such as glorious world civilization, fascinating secular power and wealth. Because it is certain that the civilization of this world, like the great woman, will disappear one day under the judgment of God, believers must follow Christ in the world and not betray the Lord in the sweetness of the world's power and wealth. The Lord puts the world under his sovereign control, leading the saints to an end point that will eventually lead to it. It is victory. Even though the evil is so strong that it seems to bring ruin to life, in the end, Jesus, the Lamb, triumphed, and he gave the victory to the saints who followed the Lord. 『These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” The role of saints who have already been guaranteed victory is to believe in that victory. And the saints must hold on to that victory and live like a victor.