The Woman and the Beast (Revelation 17:1-18)
OPEN IT
- What are some examples of champions or winners?
EXPLORE IT
2. What did one of the seven angels show John? (Rev.17:1)
3. How did the angel describe the evil of the “great prostitute”? (Rev.17:2)
4. What did John see when the angel carried him away? (Rev.17:3)
5. How did John describe the woman he saw? (Rev.17:4-5)
6. What could John tell about the woman he saw? (Rev.17:6)
7. What amazed John? (17:6)
8. How did the angel react to John’s astonishment? (Rev.17:7)
9. What did the angel explain to John? (Rev.17:7)
10. Why will people all around the world be astonished at the beast? (Rev.17:8)
11. What do people need in the light of the events that are coming? (Rev.17:9)
12. How did the angel explain the seven heads of the beast? (Rev.17:9-11)
13. How did the angel explain the ten horns that covered the beast? (Rev.17:12)
14. What action will the ten kings take and what will be the result? (Rev.17:13-14)
15. What was the significance of the waters that John saw the woman sitting on? (Rev.17:15)
16. What is the relationship between the beast, the ten kings, and the prostitute? (Rev.17:16-18)
GET IT
17. What systems (“babylons”) in the world today are hostile to God?
18. What difference does it make that Jesus is the Lord of lords and King of kings?
APPLY IT
19. What can you use to remind yourself each day this week of God’s rule and superiority over all evil in the world?
Commentary
BACKGROUND: Chapters 17 and 18 are inserted into the chronological flow of Revelation, which continues in chapter 19. The pouring out of the seventh bowl (16:17) is followed immediately in time by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to end the great world battle (19:11). Chapters 17 and 18 digress to look not at God’s specific judgments, but at what is being judged. Those two chapters go back to describe the world system led by Satan, Antichrist, and the false prophet, before recording its destruction. John had already heard harbingers of Babylon’s destruction (14:8; 16:19); now the details of that destruction will be given in these remarkable visions.
During the Tribulation, people will desperately seek religion because of what will be happening in the world. As the hammer blows of God’s judgment (the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments) devastate the earth and terrorize its inhabitants, people will turn in desperation to Antichrist as their savior. Aided by the false prophet and hordes of deceiving demons, Antichrist will establish a worldwide religion, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” How can the future religious Babylon be the mother of all false religion? To comprehend the Babylonian false religion of the future requires an understanding of Babylon’s role in the false religion of the past.
The story of Babylon begins with the Tower of Babel, recorded in Genesis 11:1-9:
Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So, the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore, its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.
Journeying east after the Flood, Noah’s descendants arrived at the site of Babylon (the “land of Shinar”). In history’s first great humanistic effort, they decided to build a monument to themselves, to “make for [themselves] a name.” But this act of rebellion against God also had religious implications. Brick towers, like the one they built (known as ziggurats), were later used in false religions. Ziggurats had on their tops the sign of the zodiac, which was used by pagan priests to chart the stars. Through their observations of the stars, the priests supposedly gained spiritual insights and knowledge of the future.
Such blatant, defiant rebellion against God is incredible on the part of those to whom the Flood was a recent event. In fact, Nimrod, the apparent leader of the plot, was Noah’s great-grandson. Genesis describes him as “a mighty hunter before the Lord” (10:9), and notes that “the beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city” (Gen. 10:10-12). This proud, arrogant leader (his name may derive from a Hebrew verb meaning “to rebel”) foreshadowed the final Antichrist.
God judgmentally scattered those proud rebels from Babel (Gen. 11:8), and they took their false religion around the world with them. Despite the scattering, Babylon remained an idolatrous center of false worship. At one point in the city’s sordid history, it contained no less than 180 shrines dedicated to the goddess Ishtar. Even some of the Israelites were caught up in the idolatrous worship of Ishtar, one of whose titles was “Queen of Heaven.” Jeremiah rebuked the Jewish remnant that had fled to Egypt for the idolatry that had led to their downfall. Instead of repenting, however, they remained defiant: Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, “As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you! But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine.” “And,” said the women, “when we were burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and were pouring out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?” (Jer. 44:15-19)
God, through Jeremiah, pronounced judgment on those Jews for their stubborn, defiant adherence to the Ishtar cult: (Jer. 44:20-27). Ezekiel also refers to the worship of Ishtar and Tammuz: “Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz” (Ezek. 8:14).
Throughout history, then, Babylon has been an important center of false religion. In the end times, false religion will come back to where it started. The devil who deceived the people at Babel, and from there launched false religion over the earth, will deceive the world once again. The final world religion, depicted as a harlot, is the theme of this vision, which records the exposure of the harlot, the explanation of the harlot, and the extermination of the harlot.
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 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.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly….
And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. (17:1-6, 15)
That it was one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls who came and spoke with John connects the judgment of the harlot with the seven last plagues (16:1-21). As previously noted, chronology halts in chapters 17 and 18 as the scene shifts from God’s judgments to Antichrist’s world empire, the target of those judgments. The great harlot that will be judged is not an actual prostitute. The term harlot is a metaphor for false religion, spiritual defection, idolatry, and religious apostasy. Besides Babylon, several cities in Scripture are designated harlot cities because of their idolatry and pursuit of false religion. Nineveh (Nah. 3:1,4), Tyre (Isa. 23:15-17) and, sadly, Jerusalem (Isa. 1:21) are examples of cities that committed spiritual fornication.
Who sits on many waters…? And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. (17:1b, 15)
The harlot in John’s vision sits in a position of authority and sovereignty like a king on his throne on or beside many waters. Cities in ancient times were usually located near a source of water, either the ocean, a river, lake, or spring. That was true of Babylon, which was located on the Euphrates River. Jeremiah 51:13 addresses ancient Babylon as “you who dwell by many waters”. Just as the proud capital of the Babylonian empire took her seat beside “many waters,” so also will the Babylonian harlot city of the future.
The phrase many waters does not, however, refer to the harlot’s geographical location. Instead, as the angel explains to John (v.15), “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” The metaphor is an apt one, since a city situated in a commanding position on a great waterway would be highly influential. The harlot will not merely influence, but will dominate all the unredeemed peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues of the earth (the similar phrases in 5:9; 7:9; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6). The harlot’s authority will be universal; the entire world will be committed to the false worship of the Babylonian system, rather than the true God.
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.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. (17:2-3)
Her association with the kings of the earth reveals that the scope of the harlot’s influence will be immense. Those at the highest levels of power and influence will commit spiritual fornication with her. The phrase committed acts of immorality translates a form of the Greek verb porneuō (“to commit sexual immorality”). It aptly describes the harlot’s interaction with the kings of the earth. The symbolism of spiritual adultery, used in the Old Testament to describe Israel’s apostasy from Jehovah (Ezek. 16, 23) is inappropriate here. The unredeemed rulers and the nations they represent do not know God and are never pictured as His wife.
Rulers from around the world will become obsessed with the Babylonian harlot. Deceived by the false prophet, Antichrist, and Satan and his demon hosts, they will become enamored with the false world religion. “All who dwell on the earth will worship [Antichrist], everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain” (13:8). But having joined themselves to the harlot, economically, socially, militarily, politically, and religiously, they will share her disastrous fate.
The harlot will not be allied just with the rulers and influential people of the world. All those who dwell on the earth (a technical term for unbelievers; v. 8; 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8, 12, 14; 14:6) were made drunk with the wine of her immorality. All the unredeemed will be caught up in the final false religion; they will give their hearts and souls to the abominable Babylonian harlot. The angel is not describing people who are physically drunk with literal wine committing sexual immorality with an actual prostitute, though that may be happening. Instead, he is talking about those who are passionately intoxicated with Antichrist’s illicit false world religion. The imagery derives from Jeremiah 51:7, which says of ancient Babylon, “Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; therefore, the nations are going mad.”
Before the next alliance of the harlot is revealed, the scene of John’s vision changes. The angel with whom John had been speaking carried him away in the Spirit into a wilderness (1:10; 4:2; 21:10). Wilderness translates erēmos, which describes a deserted, desolate wasteland like the region where modern Babylon is located. In that place John saw a woman—the Babylonian harlot whom the angel had just described (vv. 1-2). She was sitting on a scarlet beast, whose description identifies him as Antichrist (13:1, 4; 14:9; 16:10). That the woman was sitting on the scarlet beast signifies that he was supporting her. The initial unifying and controlling factor of Antichrist’s kingdom will be religion. With the heavens and the earth being ravaged by God’s judgments, and the world’s political, economic, and military might crumbling, people will turn in desperation to the supernatural.
The beast and the woman will coexist for a while; that is, the religion will be separate from the kingdom of Antichrist at first. But eventually “the beast … will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire” (v. 16). It will be at that point that the false prophet will make the whole world worship Antichrist (13:11-14), and everything will be one in the beast’s universal and comprehensive rule.
Scarlet is the color associated with luxury (2 Sam. 1:24), splendor, and royalty. It is also the color associated with sin (Isa. 1:18) and the hue of blood. Antichrist will be a splendorous, royal, sinful, bloody beast, full of blasphemous names (13:1). In his arrogant self-deification, Antichrist will take for himself the names and titles that belong to God. He will not only blaspheme God by what he claims, but also by what he says. Antichrist “will speak out against the Most High…. and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods” (Dan. 7:25; 11:36).
This demonic scarlet beast is further described as having seven heads and ten horns, showing the extent of his alliances. As will be seen in the discussion of verses 9 and 10 below, the seven heads “are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while” (vv. 9-10). They represent seven mountains, seven past, present, and future governments. The ten horns represent ten kings (v. 12), who will rule as subordinates to Antichrist (v. 13).
The harlot’s alliances will be comprehensive. Her deadly embrace will encompass all the unredeemed, from kings and rulers to common people; all will worship and submit to her religion. Far from being separated, church and state will be united as never before in human history.
The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, (17:4a)
Prostitutes usually dress to attract attention to themselves, and metaphorically the harlot Babylon will be no different. John saw her clothed in purple and scarlet, the colors of royalty, prosperity, nobility, and wealth (Judg. 8:26; Est. 8:15; Lam. 4:5; Ezek. 23:6; Dan. 5:7, 16, 29). That she is adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls portrays her as a prostitute who is both attractive (Prov. 7:10) and has plied her trade successfully and become extremely wealthy.
Having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” (17:4b-5)
As a further indication of her wealth, the harlot had in her hand a gold cup. Like prostitutes who want to take everything their victims have, she will make her victims drunk, as did ancient Babylon: “Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; therefore, the nations are going mad” (Jer. 51:7). The harlot’s gold cup was full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality.
All idolatry is abominable to God (1 Kings 14:22-24; 2 Kings 21:1-9; Ezek. 20:30-33), and the gross idolatry of Antichrist’s false religion will be the worst ever. No wonder Babylon’s sins will be “piled up as high as heaven” (18:5),bringing her destruction.
As was customary for prostitutes to identify themselves in the Roman world, the harlot Babylon also had a name written on her forehead (Jer. 3:3). The name John saw was “mystery BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” (The word mystery should be rendered as part of the title.) The harlot is called mystery BABYLON to indicate that BABYLON in this context does not refer to a geographical location. This is not ancient Babylon, the Babylon of John’s day, or the rebuilt city of Babylon in the end times. The details of this vision cannot be applied to any actual city. Here is a previously undisclosed Babylon, a secret reality to be revealed in the end times. This BABYLON is the symbol of all worldly resistance to God; it is described as THE GREAT because of its far-reaching influence. In fact, so great will be its influence that it is called THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. Babylon will be the source of all the false, idolatrous, blasphemous worship in the end times. Her designation as the MOTHER OF HARLOTS is appropriate, since harlotry in Scripture often symbolizes idolatry (Judg. 2:17; 8:27, 33; 1 Chron. 5:25; 2 Chron. 21:11; Jer. 3:6, 8-9; Ezek. 16:30-31, 36). So, Babylon, the city that spawned the system that corrupted the world with false religion, will do so again.
And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly? (17:6)
Like many harlots, this woman was drunk, but not from drinking alcoholic beverages. In a graphic indictment of her for her murderous persecution of God’s people, the Babylonian harlot is pictured as drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. That vivid expression was commonly used in the ancient world to depict a murderous lust for violence. False religion, represented here by the harlot, is a murderer. It has killed millions of believers over the centuries. The history of the church has demonstrated that apostate Christianity is relentless in its persecution of those who hold to true faith in Jesus Christ. While the world becomes drunk with lust for her, the harlot becomes drunk with the blood of God’s people. The vision was so appalling that when John saw her, he wondered greatly; expressing that he was confused, shocked, astonished, and frightened by the ghastly vision of such a contrastingly magnificent figure of the woman and such a deadly intent.
And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” … “The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.” (17:7-14, 18)
In response to John’s confusion and amazement, the angel said to him rhetorically, “Why do you wonder?” There was no need for John to remain puzzled by the relation of the beast to this beautiful yet bloody woman in the vision; the angel was about to explain to him the mystery of the woman (v. 18) and of the beast that carries her (vv. 8-17). The apostle understood that the woman represented a false religious system, and that the beast was the Antichrist, as the reference to his seven heads and … ten horns indicates (v. 3; 13:1). What he did not understand was the connection between the two figures. It had been revealed to John in a previous vision that the whole world would worship Antichrist (13:4, 8, 12). That may have been what raised the question in John’s mind as to how the woman fits into the picture, particularly how it is that the beast … carries her.
Skipping for the moment the angel’s digression in verses 8-14 describing the beast, verse 18 identifies the woman whom John saw as the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth. The angel quite clearly and repeatedly refers to Babylon on the Euphrates throughout chapters 17-18. Those allusions can be seen by comparing 17:1 with Jeremiah 51:13; 17:2, 4 with Jeremiah 51:7; 18:7 with Isaiah 47:5; 18:2 with Isaiah 13:21 and Jeremiah 51:8; 18:4 with Jeremiah 50:8 and 51:6, 45; 18:5 with Jeremiah 51:9; 18:6 with Jeremiah 50:15 and 51:24; 18:21 with Jeremiah 51:63-64. The description of Babylon’s destruction (18:10, 18, 21) also suggests that an actual city is in view. Thus, a rebuilt city of Babylon will be closely identified with Antichrist’s world empire, perhaps as its capital city. That city will be the center of his kingdom, the extent of which will be the whole earth.
In verses 8-14 the angel gives John a lengthy description of the beast. He is explaining to John the relationship between the harlot and the beast, which had mystified the apostle (vv. 6-7). But for John to grasp that connection, the angel needed first to give him further details about the beast. This further describes the nature of the beast and his kingdom, enhancing the description of him in chapter 13.The beast that John saw is Antichrist, the satanic ruler of the last and most powerful empire in human history, who will serve as Satan’s instrument to attack Israel, persecute believers, conquer the world for Satan, and oppose Christ. Scripture portrays him as an intellectual genius (Dan. 7:8); an outstanding orator (Dan. 7:20); a military leader without parallel in human history (Dan. 7:23); a shrewd, calculating, manipulating politician (Dan. 8:25; 11:21); and the ultimate religious charlatan (2 Thess. 2:4). The angel briefly reviews the detailed description of him given in 13:1-10.
The beast is described as one who was, and is not, and is about to come again. That phrase refers to Antichrist’s faked death and resurrection. The false prophet will use that alleged miracle to deceive the entire world into worshiping Antichrist (13:14). Up till that point, Antichrist’s political and economic empire will coexist with the false religious system headed by the false prophet. But after his staged “resurrection,” Antichrist, then indwelt by a powerful demon out of the abyss (the place where certain demons are incarcerated; 9:11; 11:7; 20:1, 3; Luke 8:31. Antichrist’s faked resurrection and his destruction of the false religious system will take place approximately halfway through the Tribulation period. At that point, he will be the undisputed ruler of the world, with unilateral power. He will appear to have reached the apex of his sovereignty and be ready to thwart the coming of Christ and His kingdom. Yet, Antichrist will be about to be crushed and sent to destruction—eternal damnation in the lake of fire (19:20; 20:10). That will be the appropriate punishment for the “son of destruction” (2 Thess. 2:3), who dared in his insolent pride to copy the sin of Lucifer (Isa. 14:12-14) and challenge the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Antichrist’s phony resurrection and swift destruction of the false religious system will shock the world. As it does throughout Revelation, the phrase those who dwell on the earth describes unbelievers (v. 2; 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8, 12, 14; 14:6). They are the ones whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world (see the discussion of 13:8 in chapter 4 of this volume), since the names of the elect are recorded in the book of life (3:5; 20:15; 21:27; Phil. 4:3). Amazed and deceived by Antichrist (2 Thess. 2:9-10), his followers will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. The specific cause for their amazement will be Antichrist’s seemingly miraculous return to life after receiving an apparently fatal wound (13:3-4). Only the elect will not fall for Antichrist’s deception (Matt. 24:24).
The angel’s statement here is the mind which has wisdom invites John and his readers to pay close attention to what follows. This unusual expression introduces a difficult and complex aspect of this vision. It will take much wisdom and spiritual insight to understand it, and perhaps only those alive at the time will fully comprehend it.
The first aspect of the vision that needs to be understood is that the seven heads of the beast (v. 3) are seven mountains or hills on which the woman sits. The mountains as seven kings. Mountains are sometimes used metaphorically in the Old Testament to represent rule, or power (Ps. 30:7; Isa. 2:2; Jer. 51:25; Dan. 2:35). Here they represent seven world empires embodied in their rulers. The angel tells John that five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come. The five Gentile world empires that had fallen by the time of John’s vision are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. The one that existed at that time was obviously Rome. The other one that has not yet come is Antichrist’s final world empire.
The angel further explains that when Antichrist comes, he must remain a little while (12:12). His empire will be short-lived; he will be given “authority to act for forty-two months” (13:5; the second half of the Tribulation). Then the angel offered the enigmatic comment that the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. How can the beast (Antichrist) be an eighth king and one of the seven? The answer lies in the phrase the beast … was and is not. Antichrist will be one of the seven kings before his supposed demise and resurrection and an eighth king afterwards during the second phase of his rule. As noted earlier in verse 8, Antichrist will go to destruction—eternal damnation in the lake of fire (19:20; 20:10). Unlike the first six empires, his empire will be destroyed by a direct act of God.
The angel further explained that the ten horns which John saw are ten kings. They cannot be known to any earlier generation because they have not yet received a kingdom, since they are part of Antichrist’s future empire. They will receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. Perhaps Antichrist’s empire will be divided into ten administrative regions, which these ten kings will rule under him. The reference to one hour is a figure of speech that emphasizes the brevity of their rule; their reign will be short-lived because their master’s empire itself will be short-lived. During their brief reign, they will be unanimously devoted to Antichrist; they will have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will do his will, and his will alone.
The agenda of the ten kings, like that of Satan and Antichrist, will be to wage war against the Lamb at the Battle of Armageddon. Three exceptionally deceitful and powerful demons will be the agents to gather them for that battle: And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty…. And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. (16:13-14, 16)
John will describe this ill-fated battle in detail in chapter 19, so here he merely notes that the Lamb will overcome them. The battle will be a slaughter; the Lord Jesus Christ will destroy the forces gathered against Him at His second coming. The reason all the forces of hell cannot defeat the Lamb is because He is Lord of lords and King of kings (19:14; Deut. 10:17; 1 Tim. 6:15). With Christ when He returns will be the called and chosen and faithful—a reference that can only apply to believers (19:14; Matt. 22:14).
And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. (17:16-17)
Antichrist’s alliance with the false religious system will not last. Eventually the ten horns (the ten kings who rule under Antichrist) and the beast (Antichrist himself) will come to hate the harlot. Having used the false religious system to help him gain control of the world, Antichrist will discard it. In his rampant megalomania, he will want the world to worship only him. He will also no doubt covet the vast wealth of the false religious system. Thus, he will turn on the harlot and will make her desolate and naked and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. That graphic language of extreme violence is used to make clear that Antichrist and his henchmen will utterly and completely obliterate all vestiges of the false religious system.
Antichrist’s self-serving, satanically inspired actions are, however, precisely in the scope of God’s sovereign plan. In fact, it is God who will put it in the hearts of Antichrist’s followers to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast. God’s power is behind the destruction and consolidation of the evil empire; as always, Satan is the instrument of God’s purposes. The one-world unification government so long sought by the humanists will have finally arrived, only to be destroyed in one great act of divine judgment. All the words of God—every prophecy of Christ’s return and the setting up of His kingdom—will be fulfilled completely.
God hates every form of false religion and will not tolerate those who seek to rob Him of His glory (Isa. 42:8). Antichrist’s religious empire will be judged and destroyed. So also, as chapter 18 of Revelation reveals, will be the political and economic aspects of that evil world empire.
THINK ABOUT THIS: Ever since the Fall the world has been a whore. Like Potiphar’s wife, the world comes to us with siren calls to pleasure, but if we reject her, she becomes our most bitter accuser. Thus, it manipulates men with pleasure and pain. How is the world seeking to manipulate you?
The way to overcome the enticements of the world is through God’s sovereign grace alone. Only those chosen by God, redeemed by the Lamb, and called by the Spirit will be faithful. Will-power cannot succeed. Human wisdom will fail. Rely upon Christ alone.
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