Revelation 17:6–14 (ESV)
The Great Prostitute and the Beast
6
And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery
of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the
book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. 9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five
of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you
saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb,
and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
I remember watching the poet Robert Frost on the Tonight Show, hosted
by Johnny Carson. I remember him talking about a particular poem that is famous. He likes to sit back and listen to people interpreting the poem and all the English majors, Professors, literary critics dissect is creation. Johnny asked him
what is the true meaning of the poem. Robert Frost just laughed and said it is just a simple poem, there is no hidden meaning, it’s just a poem. There are a lot of times that I think this is how we should approach Revelation. Yes, there
are a lot of symbolic imagery and hidden meanings, but let’s get down to the hard core basics. Is it important to understand the Book of Revelation? There are many different views, but I’m going to say “NO”. What it
comes down to in the end is are you a believer? Is your name written in the Book of Life. You could be wrong your interpretation of Revelation and still go to heaven, because of your faith; endure unto the end! I will say this, many people
spend way to much time studying this book when they should be putting that time into Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
I’m sure that there are some of you that dislike the picture I picked, but that is why I picked
it. It catches your eye, whether male or female. You find yourself staring at it, which fits the scripture reading. “6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled
greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, ‘Why do you marvel?’” We may take a “holier than thou” attitude and say we don’t marvel or we are not like that. Well I will argue that we DO marvel because we are sinners and we
fall short. Everytime we sin, we are choosing our way over God’s way. If sin was not attractive, then why do we do sin so often. On the same reasoning, I maintain that Satan is probably not scare, but very attractive. Wouldn’t
it be hard to be attracted to a hideous beast? Notice that those whose names are not written in the book of life marvel at the Great Prostitute and the beast. I know where you may be going with this because I marveled at the picture. But
I say... not so quick! John, a believer and whose name is written in the book of life marveled too! Satan loves working in the church and even went after Jesus. Remember the Great Prostitute is false religion. It looks like Christianity,
acts like it and feels like it, yet it is deceiving! If false religion is not convincing, then there would not be so many people being led astray. The best way to be prepared is to study God’s Word which is the sword of the spirit.
Do not remove yourself from worshiping and growing in God. And remember, with Jesus... you are on the winning team. Today’s reading states: “14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords
and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” I pray: Lord, I know you are the Lord of lords and King of kings. Help me to stay true to you and to pick me up when I fall by marveling over sin. Have
mercy on me, a sinner. Forgive me and renew me in your free Spirit. Amen.