FBC Daily Devotions

Read Revelation 17:15-18.

There is an interesting turn of events in the last days of the final wrath of God. It seems there will be a turning of the Antichrist (beast) and the federation (10 heads) against the woman, earlier identified as an underlying spiritual power (i.e. spiritual Babylon) that influences and controls the dominion of darkness. How can this be? How could the Antichrist and his government turn on their very source of power and utterly destroy her? To be honest, it doesn’t make sense. This is perhaps one of the most confusing passages of Revelation for me. Later in the passage, the angel identifies the woman not as a sort of spiritual Babylon, but what appears to be a physical Babylon. This has led some commentators to see the woman as a physical Babylon from the very beginning.  It is a fitting interpretation in some ways: the city of Babylon “once was”, “now is not”, and “will come up” does work. That said, though, there are too many conflicts with this view if the beast is said to be the physical city of Babylon. This goes beyond the scope of our time, however.

I’d like to posit a unique explanation. Let me suggest that after seeing the battle against God in the final days going so badly, the Antichrist and his government will blame the underlying system, that of the woman’s (the spiritual Babylon). It is not uncommon for organizations to lay blame on the organization or the system when things are going badly. They will give up on Satan’s power. They will see the weakness of his ways. In effect, this will result in an implosion. They will self destruct. Jesus said Himself, “a house divided against itself will be ruined” (Mark 3:25). I believe it is possible that God will accomplish His purposes in part “by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule” (v. 17). The Antichrist, his government, and the power of Satan will destroy itself. In that weakened state, we will see its utter destruction in ch. 18 as God’s wrath overcomes her.

Evil cannot help but turn on itself. It is the very nature of evil to work against everything and everyone – including those who work alongside it. Evil will turn on its closest allies, because in evil, there are ultimately no allies. Some have said they would rather be in hell with their friends than in heaven with strangers. Sadly, there will be no friends in hell because the place of evil and darkness cannot sustain any sort of unity. There will be no lasting relationships because evil cannot sustain them. But in Christ, we will be closer than brothers. We will be drawn together like never before. It is the nature of Christ to unite. When that day of Christ comes, what a glorious day that will be to no longer be plagued by trouble or conflict or tension. But we will all be drawn together in the unity of Christ forever. The day is coming when the power of darkness will be overcome by its own weakness, and the power of God’s light will prevail. May that day come soon.

Read Revelation 17:9-14.

In our passage today we are given the identification of the seven heads of the beast, the beast himself, and the ten horns of the beast. This is a very full passage requiring your full attention, so get ready, here we go…

The seven heads of the beast are said to be hills (NIV). A better translation would be “mountains”. These hills or mountains are said to be kings of which five have fallen, one is in existence, and one is yet to come. While some believe these seven hills as the seven hills of Rome and specific kings or rulers of Rome, it is probably more accurate to see these hills or mountains as empires throughout history (most popular view) as the Bible often refers to kingdoms as mountains. Looking back from John’s day, there were five major kingdoms leading up to the Roman Empire: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. The sixth mountain would be the current Roman Empire ruling during John’s day. The seventh kingdom would be a still future kingdom. Sounds confusing? Trust me, it could be more confusing if I were to bring in details from Daniel’s prophecy! Well, let’s give some context to this.

After the seven kingdoms have risen, there will be an eighth king – the Antichrist (i.e. the beast who once was, now is not) – who will belong to the seven kingdoms. This is likely a reference to his belonging to the same underlying power as the seven (i.e. Satan, the dragon). What this seems to mean is that some time in the future, there will rise a seventh significant kingdom from which the Antichrist figure will emerge. Let’s keep going…

The ten horns are actually ten kingdoms according to the Revelation. From what I can see, these ten kingdoms will form some kind of alliance or federation (cf. Dan. 7:24 for remarkable similarity). Out of this federation, the eighth king or Antichrist will emerge. This ten-horned alliance will give the Antichrist power and authority (Rev. 17:13). This has led me to believe that the seventh and yet future kingdom is this 10 kingdom federation (others may disagree here).

What does all this mean? I will go out on a limb and give what I believe could be the chronology of future events:

1. A future major kingdom will be established (the 7^th mountain, possibly composed of 10 nations. Others see a revived Roman Empire.).
2. A very charismatic and influential leader will emerge out of the federation (i.e. the Antichrist).
3. Christ will return for His people (i.e. the rapture, 2 Thes. 2:1-4). [debatable]
4. The Anti-Christ along with the federation will attempt to destroy everything that is of God and gain the allegiance of the world.

Of course, I would never hold very tightly to this view. It is fragile at best as are most attempts to give a chronology of future events.

If this chronology is accurate, though, it gives us a hint of what we might be looking forward to. How could this news affect your thinking on and perspective of the world today?

-Mike

Read Revelation 17:7-8.

With so much symbolism in the book of Revelation, it is nice to have a portion interpreted for us by the writer. I think for many readers of the revelation, we can identify with John’s response to all the symbolism when he says, “I was greatly astonished.” The interpretation is a welcome departure from the norm. The woman, the beast and his features, the waters – they are all identified for us in the coming verses. Let’s take a moment and dissect one of the characters of this end time prophecy…

The beast on which the woman rides is the same beast of the sea of Rev. 13. If you have time, it is worthwhile to go back and read the first half of Rev. 13. As noted during the exposition of Rev. 13 last month, this beast is the Antichrist who will become a world ruler and will be worshipped by all the peoples of the world (Rev. 13:4, 8). He is the man of lawlessness of 2 Thessalonians who will be revealed prior to Christ’s return and will proclaim himself to be God (2Thes. 2:3-4). He is Daniel’s “little horn” of his 4th beast who will rise to power out of a coming federation of kingdoms (to be explained later) (Dan. 7:8, 24-25). And lastly, he will be completely destroyed after rising to power (2 Thess. 2:3, 8; Dan. 7:26; 11:45). There is much to be found in the Scriptures regarding this Antichrist figure, and more will be said when we come to v. 11. For now it is clear that he will be to the world what Christ is to Christians. Unlike Christ, however, the Antichrist will give the illusion that he will save the world, but in fact his rise will result in the destruction of the world.

Being described as one who “once was, now is not, and yet will come” (v. 8), he will gain a great following. This is a reference to Rev. 13:3 where the beast is said to have had a fatal wound that had been healed astonishing the whole world and causing them to follow him. As said earlier, this beast will have the appearance of a messiah, deceiving the world into following after him.

What are we to learn from this? What are we to take away from this record of the coming Antichrist? Let us be encouraged that we know what is coming. When I look at the world’s reaction to the rising of the Antichrist, the fatal wounding of the beast, and his subsequent healing, the world is said to be astonished (Rev. 13:3; 17:8). The ones who are astonished are described as those “whose names have not been written in the book of life” (Rev. 17:8). As God’s children, we are not part of that group. These events should come as no surprise to us. I for one am thankful that this revelation, though difficult to understand as it is, will enable me to be ready when its events begin to unfold. Deception is certainly less likely for those whose minds are aware and whose eyes are open. Praise God for giving us His Word that we might be ready for the end to come.

-Mike

Chapter 17 is a very full chapter! Much of the content in the first half of the chapter is explained in the second half. Consequently, it is difficult to break up this chapter into bite-sized pieces… but I’ll give it a try!

Granted, this is a long reading for the day, take the time and read this chapter in its entirety: Revelation 17.

Let’s begin our discussion by looking at the Great Prostitute. In the chapter she is referred to as “a woman sitting on a scarlet beast” (v. 3), “the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth” (v. 5), and “the great city” (v. 18). I will state simply upfront (and humbly), she represents the underlying power of all things opposed to God. She is the spiritual world-order opposed to Christ and often likened to Babylon, the great city credited with the final destruction of the nation of Israel. She is seen as an underlying power for evil early in the chapter, but then we see a shift to a physical entity in the latter part of the chapter (e.g. the beast and rulers of the earth will destroy her). She is responsible for the atrocities committed by the kings of the earth and ultimately for the actions of the Antichrist (i.e. the scarlet beast wtih 7 heads & 10 horns – see Rev. 13). She represents all things worldly — the enticement of riches, the filth of adultries, the killing of God’s people (vv. 4-6).

As I read the first six verses again in this chapter, the picture of the great prostitute becomes more apparent. One characteristic that stands out to me is this picture of her as a prostitute or harlot (NAS) through whom the world commits adultery. What is adultery? In a very specific sense, it is an unfaithful act committed against a marriage partner, namely sexual intercourse with someone other than one’s spouse. In a broader sense, it is an act of unfaithfulness against anyone or anything that we have made a commitment to. When applied to God, adultery is an act of unfaithfulness that says to the world, “my commitment lies elsewhere”. The Great Prostitute is the tempter, and the world will fall to her temptations giving rise to adulterous acts everywhere. The world will be committed to her rather than to God.

But unlike the apostate religion of that day, we are of the true faith. Our hearts remain true to God rather than to the sinful enticements of the world (Matt. 5:28). Our actions should tell the world of our commitment to God. When people see our lives, they should know who our “wife” or “husband” is. There should be no question as to our faithfulness. Let me encourage you to live up to your relationship with Christ. Let there be no question of your loyalty to God. Some may judge you incorrectly, and that may be unavoidable. But let that be an exception rather than the norm. Let our hearts be melded with His so that we might never be guilty of adultery before God. We are His, and He bought us with a great price (1Cor. 6:20). Let us say as His followers, “my commitment lies with Him.”

-Mike

By Mike Kurtz

Read Revelation 16:17-21.

The final final final judgment has now arrived: the seventh seal with the seventh trumpet with the seventh bowl. The angel cries out, “It is done!” and with that a great earthquake rocks the planet causing the great cities around the world to fall in destruction. If that wasn’t bad enough, huge hundred pound hailstones fall from the sky killing much of mankind (though numbers aren’t stated).

I think what it is interesting about this final judgment is the type of affliction that is executed. In the earlier judgments, we find the sea, land, rivers and lakes affected. The sun, moon, and stars are affected. People are afflicted with sores, the scorching sun, and so on. But here in the last judgment, it is a great earthquake and huge hailstones. What makes this judgment uniquely different and more severe than the previous ones? Why would this kind of judgment be the climax of God’s wrath?

Have you ever experienced an earthquake? I spent much of my life in the central valley of California where earthquakes are common. Before that time, I lived a few years in Nebraska – tornado country. Every year we would seek shelter in our basement whenever tornadoes threatened the area. In my few years there, we never actually experienced the effects of a tornado because they always moved through some other part of the town. If you’ve ever lived in flood areas, you know that you can escape the flood by evacuating to higher ground. Earthquakes on the other hand, there is no escaping them. The shaking and rumbling of the earth is experienced by everyone in the area. Running to higher ground doesn’t help – even if warning was possible. Obviously, running to the basement is of no help either.  Let me suggest that this worldwide earthquake and the huge hailstones are worse than all the other judgments because there will be no escaping it. Where could one possibly run to and not experience this worldwide earthquake? What could stand up to one hundred pound hailstones? We’re not talking about one hundred pound rocks being tossed through the air. These are hailstones crashing to the earth at incredible speeds. This is a judgment from which no one can hide.

It reminds me of the Scripture from Jeremiah 23:24:

Can anyone hide in secret places
       so that I cannot see him?”
       declares the LORD.
       “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
       declares the LORD.

And Job says of God:

There is no dark place, no deep shadow, where evildoers can hide. (Job 34:22)

This is not an encouraging word for unbelievers during this time! But have you stopped to consider that there will be believers there as well? They, too, will be unable to hide from the worldwide wrath. It’s fairly safe to say that God will protect them through this time. But think about this: the very words of Scripture quoted above, while terrible news for the unbeliever, is very good news for the believer. We cannot hide from God. There is nowhere He doesn’t know where we are. That is true for us today as well.

There is nothing He cannot see or even feel that we are currently experiencing. He fills the heaven and the earth, and He sits beside us at all times. While it is a far cry from God’s wrath in this chapter of Revelation, let His sovereign power be an encouragement to you today knowing that we cannot hide from the love of God as His child.