As we
pick up where we left off in the previous post, the angel explaining things to
John tells him about the waters surrounding the woman and the beast so that she
appears to be sitting on them.
Revelation 17:15–17 “And he saith
unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples,
and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest
upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and
naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in
their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the
beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.”
The
waters are identified as representing the peoples and nations of the
world. It is another picture of the fact
that the kingdom of Antichrist and his false religious system will have
worldwide authority.
Interestingly
enough, the angel declares that the ten horns/kings that have been delegated
authority under the Antichrist will hate the whore. I think it is because they will not like the
fact that this religious leader is allowed to have such influence on world
business practices. In fact, in
accordance with God’s own purposes, they will bring about her destruction. I believe the following words of the prophet
Jeremiah refer to this destruction.
Jeremiah 51:27–30 “Set ye up a
standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations
against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and
Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the
rough caterpillers. Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the
Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of
his dominion. And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the
LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a
desolation without an inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to
fight, they have remained in their
holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her
dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.”
Babylon
was not destroyed by the Medes and Persians when they conquered Babylon in 539
BC as recorded in Daniel. Because of the
statement of complete desolation, I believe this has to be referencing
Babylon’s future destruction. The
context in Jeremiah seems to be indicating that her destruction will come at
the hands of those ruling the land of the Armenians and Medes and the area
around the Black Sea (where the descendants of Ashchenaz settled).
The
verses in Revelation seem to indicate that those who destroy the false
religious system have the approval of the beast. Once she has served his purposes in getting
all the nations to worship him, she becomes expendable. I am reminded that though the kingdom of the
beast will be rooted in Babylon, he will eventually establish his throne in
Jerusalem.
2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 “Let no man
deceive you by any means: for that day
shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of
sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above
all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
John MacArthur makes a thoughtful
observation in his commentary regarding the dissension in the kingdom of
Antichrist.
“… Satan is finally going
to wake up and realize that he can't do this thing to defeat Christ, he has no
chance at all unless he pulls this division together. So he does.
And he makes her desolate. That is, I believe, he robs the system of its
wealth, its treasure, its power. Leaves her absolutely naked, he strips
the system bare. Takes it all. The religious system of the world is
left with nothing. And by the way, the False Prophet cooperates in
this and moves over...this False Prophet isn't dumb, he wants a job and so the
job left is to be the one who points to the beast.
"He eats her
flesh." What does that mean? Everything is gone.
Everything is consumed. There's not a vestige of the former false religious
system left on the face of the earth. He is the new God, the new king,
the new ruler, the new idol. There's nothing left. And even what
may be the residue, the bones, if you will, of the consumed harlot are burned
with fire.” [end MacArthur quote]
I think
it is important to understand that God’s purpose for Babylon’s destruction will
be accomplished by the actions of wicked people. As Christians, I think we sometime forget
that truth. God is sovereign and will
still be in control during Satan’s reign of evil in the person Antichrist. In His omniscience, He has ensured that His
purposes be accomplished sometimes through the choices and actions of the
wicked. Because these wicked men are
acting in accordance with their own desires, they will still be held
accountable for those actions.
It’s
also important to note that Antichrist will be allowed to reign “until the
words of God shall be fulfilled” (v17).
I love the way God declares this truth through the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 14:24 “The LORD of hosts hath
sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I
have purposed, so shall it
stand….”
Isaiah 46:9–10 “Remember the former
things of old: for I am God,
and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and
from ancient times the things
that are not yet done, saying,
My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure….”
This
chapter closes with the angel declaring that the woman is specifically
identified with a city, a great city that reigns over the kings of the
earth—Babylon.
Revelation 17:18 “And the woman
which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the
earth.”
(to be
continued…)
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