Revelation 17

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Revelation 17:3-6, Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. The name written on her forehead was a mystery:

babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.

I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

In this chapter, John is invited to witness the downfall of Babylon.  He sees the image of a woman sitting on red beast with seven heads and ten horns.  The woman, very seductively dressed, has a name written on her: Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes, and of the Abominations of the Earth.  She slept with the kings of the world and was drunk with the blood of God’s people.

Babylon was a seductive society and a very powerful one. It conquered many of the nations around it and others were seduced by its influence and wealth.  While the woman in the vision obviously represents Babylon, it goes so much deeper.  How many Babylons have existed since then?  How many great civilizations have risen to power, only to reject God and serve themselves?  We could probably generate a pretty long list:  the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Catholic Church, various European empires, maybe even the United States of America?

Where do you see the evils of Babylon around you?  How should we respond as God’s people?

Let’s pray…Lord Jesus, We live in a world surrounded by Babylon.  Give us the courage to resist worldly temptation but also to not seclude ourselves.  Help us be in the world but not of it.  Help us to demonstrate love and grace, just as you did.  We need you.  More of you and less of me.  In Your Name, Amen.