Revelation 17:7-18

1. a mild rebuke – 7
1. John is amazed at the woman and her influence, and the angel asked why he marveled so
1. the mild rebuke suggest that John should have been more aware of the power and influence of Satan in the affairs of this world
2. it is sadly true that most Christians are so involved in their own needs and activities that they are not aware of God’s great plan, and their place in it
2. the angel offers to explain the mystery of the woman
1. the woman represents the religious system
2. the beast represents the government
3. the mystery is the unity of the two (a state religion)
4. nothing serves Satan’s purposes better than a state religion
1. together they can control the whole being
2. the state controls the physical part of man (outer man, with the mind)
3. religion controls the spiritual part of man (inner man, with the heart)
4. God wants us to love and serve Him with all our heart , soul, and mind
5. Satan achieves this by the union of religion and government
2. the beast – 8
1. there is a sense in which it can be said, that the power here referred to "was," or that before this it had an existence
2. there was a sense in which it might be said that it is "not"--that is, that it had become practically extinct
3. there is a sense in which that power would be so revived that it might be said that it "still is"
4. there is one power that has been manifested in different ways throughout history, and in their different manifestations they could be given the same name, "the beast"
5. when this beast is revived it will "ascend out of the bottomless pit"
1. this power would seem to come up from the nether world
2. it would appear to be extinct, but when revived, it would seem to come from the world over which Satan presides
3. its revived character would be such as might be expected from such a place
6. its end will be to go into perdition
1. its end will be destruction
2. it will be permanent
7. this event will finally cause the inhabitants of earth to wonder whether they were on the right side [whose names were not written in the book of life]
3. the mind that has wisdom – 9
1. here is something which requires wisdom to interpret it
2. the mind that possesses biblical wisdom is given a clue, to recognize the kingdom of the beast, and the corrupt religious system that it uses
3. the best interpretation is found in the next verse, which mentions seven kings
1. these Satan controlled kingdoms, from first to last, all comprise political Babylon
2. the harlot is seen to be supported through the ages by seven kingdoms
1. Babel
2. Egypt
3. Babylon
4. Persia
5. Greece
6. Rome
7. ?????
4. the seven kings – 10
1. the reason it is hard to identify the seventh kingdom is because it is still future
2. the seventh kingdom will not last very long
3. at the mid-point of the tribulation, the Satan empowered beast will take over, and rule all nations - 11
5. the doom of the beast is certain – 11
1. an eighth king appears, which "is of the seven"
1. the duration of the reign of these ten kings will be determined by the reign of the beast
2. When he is destroyed they will be destroyed with him
2. this king is the beast , which will have characteristics of the previous seven
6. the ten horns – 12-13
1. there will be ten kings who receive authority "one hour with the beast"
1. the phrase, "receive power as kings one hour with the beast" signifies that they all receive power at the same time; they will exist together
2. when the beast appears on the scene of action he will appear in a ten-kingdom federation
2. they are kings in name only
1. they willingly place themselves in absolute subjection to the beast
2. they will have one mind, and will be dominated by the diabolical power of the beast
3. he will be the very power of Satan wrapped up in flesh
4. these ten kings will be no more than puppets, completely controlled by the beast
3. this is an amazing phenomenon
1. that ten strong and important nations should voluntarily yield their sovereignty and military power to one man
2. he must be a tremendously brilliant and intimidating individual
1. a man of extraordinary charisma and political insight
2. inspiring awe and confidence in the ungodly of this world
7. the final public act of the Beast with his puppets – 14
1. the angel gives only the fact of the battle, passing over many outstanding events
1. the battle is just announced here; the war has not actually been entered into yet
2. the great battle is described in Revelation 19
2. the outcome is settled: "The Lamb shall overcome them"
1. complete victory is guaranteed before the conflict begin
2. the Mighty Conqueror is King of all who reign, and Lord of all who exercise authority upon this earth
3. no power is allowed except by God's permission
4. God is supreme; He is sovereign; all power in Heaven and in earth is His
5. how silly and foolish, for men and governments to enter into war against the Lamb, the Almighty God
6. one day the Lord God Almighty will laugh at the enemies of righteousness when they are completely put down
3. who are "they that are with Him"
1. these are the heavenly armies, made up of all the redeemed in Heaven at that time
2. there will be other groups of saved people in Heaven besides the Church
3. when the final war is declared, all the saints will ride out with Jesus, on white horses
4. the Lamb shall overcome them, He shall gain the victory over them
4. God did not create this earth to be populated by Satan and his co-workers
5. those who follow the Lamb into battle are spoken of as "called, chosen, and faithful"
1. "called" -- called by him to be his followers
2. "chosen" – those who accept His call are chosen to be His children
3. "faithful" -- they had shown themselves faithful to Him in times of persecution, and in the hour of darkness
8. the water that the woman sits on – 15
1. this explanation helps us to better understand the immense and universal influence this false religion will exercise over the people of the earth
2. the nations and peoples will be ensnared, captivated and allured by the harlot
3. there will be much display of loyalty, but no real loyalty of the heart
4. this one advertises herself as the true way, but she leads millions into everlasting ruin and destruction
5. her supreme desire will be for gold (Rev. 18:12), and her least concern is for the souls of men
9. the destruction of the whore – 16-17
1. the destruction of the whore comes before the destruction of the beast
2. after the rapture, organized religion will become a powerful tool for the support of the political power
1. religious Babylon has always been attached in some degree to political Babylon
2. throughout history, church and state have rarely been clearly and properly separated
3. each have always sought the other to attain its own ends, and both have had considerable success
3. when the beast finally attains his goal of world dictator, the leaders of the world’s religious system hope to share in his fruits of conquest
1. these religionist will no longer be needed once the beast becomes the emperor of the world
2. all men will then worship the beast, and his image will be revered all over the world
4. the beast and the false prophet will let it be known that they neither want nor need this humanistic religious system
1. the alliance of church and state, while always useful to both parties, has also been resented by both parties
2. each side has always wanted all the power
3. the ten kings will develop a hostility toward this particular religious system
1. they will jump at the chance to destroy this despised harlot
2. Christians and Jews are already under attack, so why not get rid of all religion
3. Buddha, Confucius, Allah, and all remnants of counterfeit Christianity will no longer be tolerated
5. here is an amazing thing – 17
1. that men would fulfill God’s will even while they oppose His will
2. God used these ten kings to destroy the age-old system of religious Babylon
3. they did this for their own selfish and wicked motives, but they accomplished the will of God in the process
4. something to take note of
1. God’s decisions are not contingent on man’s will
2. God’s will is not contingent on man’s decisions
3. men make their decisions in accordance with God’s will, even when they intend otherwise
6. in order for "all nations" to be "gathered together" for judgment and destruction …
1. there must be a human instrument to implement such a gathering
2. nothing could accomplish this except an all powerful world government
3. therefore; the kings of the earth must yield their sovereignty to such a commander
4. God’s Word must be fulfilled, whether men intend it so or not
10. the woman – 18
1. the woman is to be understood as "that great city" (what city is that)
1. the woman displayed the answer to this question on her forehead – 5
2. as a system, religious Babylon began at Babel
3. it reaches its zenith of power in rebuilt Babylon, the capital city of the world empire (the kingdom of the beast)
2. political Babylon must also quickly fall
1. the two have been so united together through the ages, that the fall of one can only foreshadow the fall of the other
2. when the capital falls, the kingdom must also quickly fall
3. the end of all things is at hand
3. all of this requires that Babylon be restored to its former magnificence and prominence