The Way - Day 227 (Revelation 17)

Pastor Tom's Journal on Today's Reading:
Revelation 17:1-18
The final series of judgments have been poured out upon the earth and in Revelation 15-16 John documented what he had been shown by God. The seventh bowl (or vial) judgment included the destruction of Babylon, which was the capital city of the Antichrist. In Revelation 18-19, John is given a little more detail about the demise of Babylon before its destruction. Revelation 17 may be best viewed outside of the chronological order which has been followed so far. This demise probably took place around the mid-point of the seven-year tribulation period, while Babylon's destruction would not take place until right before the millennial reign of Christ.
 
John begins this section by writing about Babylon’s judgment.

"One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, 'Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot [Babylon] who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.'" (Revelation 17:1-2)

The fornication referred to here may not be literal sexual sin but spiritual apostasy. Instead of worshiping God, the kings and those on earth worshipped false gods. The primary plan of the Antichrist was to bring all kings and nations under one religion, which meant the exclusive worship of himself. After seeing this, John is then carried away into the wilderness.

"And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast [Antichrist] which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns...I saw the woman [Babylon], drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." (Revelation 17:3,6)
Let’s remember that the Antichrist desires to bring all people into a one-world religion, causing millions to reject Jesus Christ and worship him. God then allows John to see the extent of the Antichrist's influence upon the entire world and how he leads them into spiritual apostasy. When John sees all this, he marvels (17:6b). The angel immediately says, "Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman [Babylon] and of the beast [Antichrist] that carries her..." (17:7). The angel then tells John about the "…seven heads and ten horns" which were used to describe this beast, the Antichrist. Many scholars believe that this description illustrates the alliance of the Antichrist with other kings and rulers. Here is how John describes it based on the words of the angel.

"The seven heads are seven mountains [seven kingdoms] on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come [Antichrist's kingdom]. And when he comes, he must continue a short time." (Revelation 17:9-10)
John also adds that the "… scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction" (17:11, NLT). The Antichrist is most likely the seventh and eighth because he was the seventh ruler and then after his fake resurrection (Revelation 13:1-5), he will also be the eighth.

The beast is also described as having ten horns. Some scholars tell us that the ten horns are representative of ten kings who will be placed under the authority of the Antichrist. These rulers will "…give their power and authority to the beast" and they "…will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them" (17:13-14). This war was referenced in Revelation 16:14-16 and their eventual defeat is recorded in Revelation 19:17-21. Revelation 17 is filled with so much symbolism so it is easy to get sidetracked by an attempt to figure out all the imagery. The summary of Revelation 17 is best viewed as follows. The Antichrist unifies the world under a false religion with the intention to inherit exclusive power and authority. He enlists the help of kings or rulers and uses the power and systems to establish worship of himself. So, the first half of the seven-year tribulation period is defined by a one-world religious system, but midway through the tribulation the Antichrist will abandon this system and set himself up as the one to be worshiped.

Dear God, please give me a heart that only seeks after and worships the One, true God.