C.J. Mahaney has well said, “Today, the greatest challenge facing evangelical, Bible-believing American Christians is not persecution from the world, but seduction by the world.”
“Then the angel said to me, “Why are you astonished? I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast, with the seven heads and the 10 horns, that carries her. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss and go to destruction. Those who live on the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast that was, and is not, and will be present again… He also said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. The 10 horns you saw, and the beast, will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, devour her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His plan by having one purpose and to give their kingdom to the beast until God’s words are accomplished. And the woman you saw is the great city that has an empire over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:7-8, 15-18 HCSB)
Note: I have intentionally omitted verses 9-14 of this passage for brevity. I would encourage you to go read the entire passage before continuing.
Essentially, we’re at the end of this story. The end of their story but also our story. The only thing left is for John to reveal the details of what has already been determined. Everything has been written; we’re simply waiting for the divine Author to put a period on it. I think the hardest thing for modern Christians to do is read Revelation without trying to take the images and symbols and force them to fit our reality. I mentioned this was a real struggle for me, initially, because I bring so much baggage into my reading and understanding of John’s vision. I grew up in an era when it was common and religiously acceptable to identify these ideas, images, and symbols with modern thought, expectations and political ideologies.
Don’t misunderstand me. I believe these images, stories and the principles they communicate are intended to be used by modern Christians to navigate the challenges we face. But I think we really miss the point if we ignore the message to first century Christians. It would be like someone simply reading the Bible as an example of good classic literature and completely missing the core message – God has done everything necessary to rescue us from the mess we’ve made of His good creation. What is Revelation’s message? It is actually found in our text, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
Let’s start where we left off last week, with John’s astonishment at the woman. As you’ll recall, I told you this word is the same one used to describe how the disciples saw Jesus after He calmed the storm and what the crowd thought about Him after He caused the paralyzed man to get up and walk. As we continue the text this week, the angel seems to admonish John for his reaction. The angel’s reaction to John is one of the reasons I think John’s response to the woman was inappropriate. It’s almost as though the angel is saying, “Why are you looking at her like that? Don’t you realize who she is and what she represents? Let me tell you the truth about her and the beast she rides.”
I spent quite a bit of time last week elaborating on what she represents and the stark contrast being drawn between her and the bride of Christ. John’s vision and description intentionally draws us into the idea of sexual immorality and the tawdry occupation of the harlot. That image is intentional because she is Babylon and she offers up the cheap version of the most holy, beautiful, expensive and dangerous thing in the world — love. Our world takes the idea of love and makes it into something God never intended it to be and the scarlet harlot is the epitome of their mistake. You see, the image of the harlot is precisely the opposite of what love is really all about.
John’s angel tries to break through the false image of the harlot that has caused John to react with astonishment and get him to see her and the beast for who and what they truly are. The way you expose a lie is by revealing the truth. The way to expose the lie of fake love is to show what real love looks like – the contrast between a harlot and a faithful, loving wife. What does real love look like? I think one of the best ways to illustrate this is with God’s own word: “Love is patient and kind, it isn’t envious, boastful or conceited. Love doesn’t act inappropriately, or selfishly. It isn’t easily provoked and doesn’t keep count when someone wrongs it. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in truth. It bears everything that comes against it, believes the best in others, hopes for the best in every situation and endures every burden it’s asked to carry. Love never ends (my paraphrase of 1 Cor. 13:4-7).”
Simply put: “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.” (1 John 4:8-9 HCSB)
The world believes and wants us to believe the harlot’s lie about love but to expose that lie we must look closely at the truth. The lie of the harlot is that love is all about your own needs, but the truth of love is that it’s all about the needs of the one loved. God SO loved the world, He gave His Son who died that we might live. In a world that has embraced the harlot’s lie about love, it’s hard to wrap your head around love like that. God loves us even while we despise and reject Him (see Rom. 5:8, 1 Jn. 4:9-10). Jesus describes this very idea in the parable of the lost sheep. He says, if you had 100 sheep and one of them was lost you too would leave the 99 in the sheepfold and go looking for the one lost. When you found it, you would carry it back home and celebrate with your family and friends that you were able to find that one lost sheep. God loves us SO much more than a shepherd loves his sheep.
I can’t honestly tell you how many weddings I’ve officiated in the past 47 years, but it has been quite a few. In recent years, it has become quite common for couples to write their own vows. While I’m not entirely opposed to the idea, I always request to read them before I agree to allow them in the ceremony. Why? The vows are the promises the bride and groom make to each other regarding the intent and duration of their love. Don’t ask me to tie a knot and then take away the rope. You can’t tie a knot with nothing and you don’t make a promise you have no intention of keeping.
Are we making promises to God that we have no intention of keeping? Our relationship with God must not be one-sided where He is faithful and we’re unfaithful. We shouldn’t make vows to Him and then go out and cheat with the world. More on this in a moment.
We are often enamored by what the woman represents—the world’s wealth, personal and professional achievement, sensual desires, and all the world offers. But the harlot doesn’t simply tempt through sensual desire; she also becomes the doorway to something even more intoxicating—power.
Most people are captivated by what the harlot promises. A select few become captivated by the one empowering her.
Men and women of power and position are often enamored by what the beast represents. I think we’re dealing with two different levels of lust and two different ways of selling our souls. Most of us stare at the woman and see in her all those things the world promises, but a select few see past her and recognize the beast that undergirds her beauty and seductive nature. That’s where their lust lies. They’ve tasted what the harlot offers and have moved on to what the beast offers: power, authority, and the worship of the masses.
Many scholars try to rectify the image of the beast, his heads, and his horns with specific rulers. In particular, they’ve tried to find a way to satisfy the direct tie into Rome by identifying each of the seven heads to a particular Roman emperor. Then you add in “the eighth who belongs to the seven and who will be destroyed.” Some Romans believed Domitian was the fulfillment of the Nero redivivus myth and that’s how you get the “eighth who belongs to the seven” because He is number eight but is one of the seven come back to life. I think if we try to force this, we miss the point. The beast is not just about Rome and her emperors, it is about any world ruler who ignores God and His will and pursues his own will and way.
While I’m certain John’s vision had the rulers of Rome in mind, the vision is really bigger than that. Notice that both the beast who is to come will be “for a little while” and the 10 kings who receive authority do so “for one hour.” Their power and rule has one purpose, to provide power and authority to the beast. But their rule and their power, for both the beast and the kings, is short lived. This is true for every human ruler and the nations they rule over. The power and authority these kings give to the beast will be used to “make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings.” I think John’s point is quite clear. Why would you submit yourselves to someone whose rule is just a few short years when the Lamb will conquer them all because of who He is.
Finally, we get to what I think is the core of this vision. These kings will try to make war against the Lamb, the Lamb will conquer them and those with Him [the Lamb] in His victory “are called, chosen, and faithful.” When the lies are exposed, then you know you are loved. When you know you are loved then you know who is worthy of your devotion and you heed their call upon your life. When you hear and heed their call upon your life, then you know you are chosen, you are their beloved. When you know you are chosen and beloved, then you are committed to being faithful. A harlot is none of these things, but a wife who takes her vows seriously is loved, called, chosen, and always faithful.
…do you take this woman to be your wife? Will you promise to have and to hold her from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish her forever until death parts you?
The Lamb makes such a promise to you, will you make such a promise to Him? Called, chosen and faithful… He’s the only One worthy.
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