After the seventh bowl, the angel had a discussion with John. This devotional reading looks at the relationship between the prostitute and the beast.
Nuggets
- Throughout the rest of the Book of Revelation, there are occasions where an angel steps up and functions as a tour guide for John.
- Pagan religions had a lot to do with sexual immorality in the first century.
- The world is depicted by a prostitute.
- The prostitute is given a seat of power.
- The prostitute is described as a beautiful woman with beautiful clothes – purple and scarlet with jewels, gold, and pearl.
Ooo, baby! Revelation 17 is going to be a difficult chapter.
Yes, the angel who is John’s tour guide explains what it means. Sort of explains, anyway.
Let’s see if we can figure this out together.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in The Bowl series
An Angel Tour Guide
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, …” (Rev. 17: 1 ESV)
Throughout the rest of the Book of Revelation, there are occasions where an angel steps up and functions as a tour guide for John.
At specific points, an angel will come to help John understand what he is seeing. That is understandable.
Remember in Revelation 1, the angel was sent to John with the message of Revelation. “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John” (Rev. 1: 1 ESV emphasis added).
We like to think this angel was Jesus Himself. But then it would be the revelation by Jesus, not of Jesus, in Revelation 1: 1.
So, is this the angel that poured out the seventh bowl? Maybe since he was going to be inviting John to see the result of the seventh bowl.
The Great Prostitute
“… Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations” (Rev. 17: 1-5 ESV)
Pagan religions had a lot to do with sexual immorality in the first century.
But then, wasn’t that what they did when they prostrated themselves before any idol? They entered into an immoral relationship with another god.
The world has entered into an immoral relationship with Satan.
The Great Prostitute with whom the Kings Committed Sexual Immorality
The world is depicted by a prostitute.
The prostitute is described in detail by John. Thomas equated these details to greater evils. He wrote, “The description here given of this harlot suggests and illustrates three great evils ever conspicuous in corrupt Christianity.”
Resource
The first evil is a political evil. She seduced the rulers of the earth so they would bow to her.
Sitting on a Scarlet Beast
The prostitute is given a seat of power.
Give me a seat on a horse – even though I fell off one when I was younger. You might could talk me into riding an elephant or a camel.
I’ll pass on riding a beast – especially this beast. It was “… full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns” (Rev. 17: 3 ESV).
Go back to Revelation 13. This was talking about the first beast.
“And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.” (Rev. 13: 1 ESV).
Yep, the prostitute is sitting on the Antichrist.
Edwards noted the hostility the Antichrist has for God. We see this by the blasphemy.
Resource
According to Edwards, not only are the prostitute and the beast blasphemous toward God, but they are also cruel toward mankind.
Arrayed in Purple and Scarlet
The prostitute is described as a beautiful woman with beautiful clothes – purple and scarlet with jewels, gold, and pearl.
Think about the scarlet. Often, that represents blood. The rich jewels and gems represent opulence and wealth.
But her attire represents worldly proclivity. Her inclination to dress to entice the world shows the level of her sinfulness.
Edwards described it this way. He wrote, “For she was seen as one who had in her hand ‘a golden cup,’ too successfully held forth to ‘the inhabitants of the earth,’ who are represented as having been ‘made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’”
Resource
The prostitute sounds successful by worldly standards, doesn’t she? That was her goal.
We know disciples are called to be in the world but not of the world (Jn. 17: 19). When we are seduced by the world and its fine things, we lose our purity.
Disciples should not be seduced by the trappings of this world. We should strive to be pure as Jesus was.
We’ll talk about the third evil in a minute.
Cup Full of Abominations and Impurities
The cup was full of sin.
The prostitute held a golden cup in her hand. John said it was full of abominations and impurities.
Abominations was a familiar topic in the Old Testament. It talks about stink, detestable, and filthy.
- “The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile” (Ex. 7: 18 ESV).
- “And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal” (I Sam. 13: 4 ESV).
- “And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them” (Deut. 29: 17 ESV).
- “If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten on the third day, he who offers it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be credited to him. It is tainted, and he who eats of it shall bear his iniquity” (Lev. 7: 18 ESV).
- “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” (Lev. 18: 22 ESV).
- “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Clap your hands and stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence’” (Ezek. 6: 11 ESV).
- “And he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God’” (Lk. 16: 15 ESV).
Do you get the gist that God hates abomination?
Babylon the Great
The prostitute will have something written on her forehead. The angel helped John understand the mystery – the name written on her forehead. The name was Babylon the great.
Being a good Jewish man, John would have recognized the name Babylon. It was the country to which the Israelites were exiled.
However, John would have also remembered the seventh bowl. “The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath” (Rev. 16: 19 ESV).
The use of the title Babylon shows the wealth and power of our world. In other words, the unregenerated world has also been called Babylon.
Drunk with the Blood of the Saints
“And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus ...” (Rev. 17: 6 ESV)
The third evil is religious intolerance.
Verse six has a kind of gruesome way to identify religious intolerance of the prostitute. It says drinking the blood of saints.
Disgusting, right?
When we think of persecution of the Church, that doesn’t come to mind first. In fact – if it were – some may have second thoughts about becoming disciples.
Let’s dig in a second and do a deeper dive into the ones who had their blood drunk. These are the martyrs of Jesus.
Remember, they are the ones who sit under the altar by God’s throne. “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” (Rev. 6: 9 ESV).
They may not be Hall of Famers like Abraham, Moses, and David, but they are still heroes of the faith. They didn’t renounce their faith in God when things got rough.
We need to believe in the hope of the promises of God.
Brown said something interesting. He said the heroes of the faith had a transparent sincerity.
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We say we have to have a genuine confession. We have to totally submit our lives to God. We have to obey Him – all His laws and commandments.
What we don’t often talk about is that our faith needs to be transparent. Our faith in God has to be obvious. We can’t hide the fact that He is our Sovereign God.
Well, what we do say is that we can’t follow the worldview even though we privately say we are following God. Our lives have to follow our beliefs.
We must make a public profession of faith in God. “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Rom. 10: 8-10 ESV).
If our faith is in our mouths and hearts, then it is in our lives.
Making the Connections
We really didn’t talk too much about the beast on which the prostitute is riding. We did identify it as the first beast—the Antichrist.
The new tidbit was the beast was scarlet. Edwards thought this may be an indication of his regal character.
I go more with Edwards’ second thought. The Antichrist is going to be out for the blood of the saints.
Resource
Daniel described it this way. “He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time” (Dan. 7: 25 ESV).
We already know the beast is going to be hideous looking. I mean, seven heads and ten horns!
What I find interesting is that the prostitute is going to be riding on the beast. The Antichrist wants the worldview.
Yes, they will prosper together. And yes, they are going to fall together.
But why does the prostitute have the prominent position?
Well, mankind is the one who chooses to follow Satan. That does initially put them in the driver’s seat.
How Do We Apply This?
- Have a deep faith in Jesus – as the martyrs did.
- Believe in living, risen, and reigning Lord.
Resource
Father God. Throughout Your Word, You warn us of the consequences of choosing Satan over You. Lord, we choose You. Amen.
What do you think?
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