Sermon Notes - Revelation 17 - The Woman and the Beast - Littleby Baptist Church - November 28, 2021
1. The wrath of God has been poured out on those who have taken the mark of the beast.
a.
The Bowls were horrible and with the Seventh,
God Said ‘It is Done!’
b.
The wrath of God falls on the earth.
2.
As we move on to chapter 17, we see more detail
behind the destruction of Babylon, which was part of the Seventh Bowl.
3.
Revelation 17:1
a.
One of the angels who poured out the bowls on
the earth, came to John.
b.
Makes it feel like these events follow the
bowls.
i. After
all, the vision is given after the vision of the bowls, but…
ii. The
events are things that happen during the bowl judgements.
iii. Another
one of those times that can make it hard for our linear minds to follow what is
happening in Revelation.
c.
Great prostitute symbolizes Babylon, whether it
is a ‘religious system’, Rome, Jerusalem, or some other city filled with vile behavior.
i. It
being referred to as a prostitute is pretty damming.
1.
Spiritually bankrupt.
2.
Moral relativism in extreme.
3.
Flat out evil.
4.
Those associated with the ‘great prostitute’ did
whatever they wanted to do without thought of if it was right or wrong.
d.
The prostitute sitting on ‘many’ waters points
to ‘people, multitudes, nations, and languages.
i. Babylon’s
horrible influence will reach around the world.
4.
Revelation 17:2
a.
The rulers of the world will be intertwined with
the depravity found in Babylon.
b.
If you were to come up with just about any sin
or unethical behavior, it would fit.
i. The
worst being that people have chosen to worship ‘idols’, make other things priority
and have turned their back on God.
5.
Revelation 17:3
a.
John had another ‘out of body experience’,
meaning that he was taken to another place to see the events that follow.
b.
The woman, is not Israel from before, this woman
is the prostitute, Babylon.
c.
She sits on a beast with 7 heads and 10 horns.
i. The
beast is the same as seen in Revelation 13:1, the antichrist.
ii. It
is covered in sacrilegious names, which fits with the antichrist declaring that
he is God.
iii. Seven
heads does not help us identify exactly who the prostitute is, Revelation 17:9 tells
us they are seven mountains and seven kings.
1.
Seven mountains are believed to point to Babylon
being Rome, as it was known as the ‘city of seven hills.’
2.
Seven kings tell us that 7 leaders of seven
kingdoms. Points more to the belief that Babylon is not a single place.
iv. The
10 horns are not as ambiguous.
v. Revelation
17:12 states they are kings who will follow the antichrist and turn over their
power to him.
vi. The
woman is sitting on the scarlet beast, Babylon is tied to the antichrist.
6.
Revelation 17:4
a.
At first glance there is nothing wrong with the
attire of the prostitute. Purple is the color of royalty, and the high priest
wore a breast plate of precious stones.
b.
When you couple this with what is in her golden
cup, it paints another story.
c.
This woman, Babylon, led people down the wide
rode to destruction.
i. She
led people towards a false religion.
ii. She
corrupted the truth so that people would turn their back on Jesus.
d.
A woman dressed splendidly and a golden cup,
beautiful on the outside.
i. The
inside is another story.
e.
The angel declared in Revelation 14:8, those who
follow the prostitute will bring wrath upon themselves.
7.
Revelation 17:5
a.
Mother of prostitutes, the source of idolatry
and evil, the one who leads people to worship things other than God.
i. It
is a lot easier to distract someone with something, to sneak idols into peoples
lives, than it is to turn them 180 degrees in another direction.
ii. We
see it today, in our own lives and in those around us.
1.
There are a lot of things that keep people from
making Jesus a priority.
2.
Things that are prioritized over reading His Word
each day, talking to Him, or that interfere with regular fellowship with fellow
believers.
b.
The mother of detestable things of the earth,
Babylon is the hub of the evil in the earth at that time.
i. Fits
for both Babylon being a ‘great’ city that people follow or a movement that
leads people away from God.
8.
Revelation 17:6
a.
The wickedness shows through.
b.
The apostate church and what follows it will be
filled with people who do not know Jesus.
c.
A city or way of life that celebrated the
persecution of true followers of Jesus.
9.
Revelation 17:7-8
a.
A reminder of a few things we have looked at.
b.
The beast, the antichrist, gets his power from the
ruler of the Abyss, Satan.
c.
Power that will let him survive the sword.
d.
People will be astonished; they will follow him
and worship him as if he is god.
10. Revelation
17:9
a.
We have been told several times we need faith
and endurance.
b.
Not surprising that those who live during this
time will need Wisdom, it is the only way to see the truth.
c.
We touched on the seven mountains and seven kings
when we looked at verse 3.
11. Revelation
17:10-11
a.
A lot of effort has been put in to figure out
who the 5 kings were who had gone before and who was the one now, and who will
be the one to come.
b.
They have tried tying to Nero, Nebuchadnezzar,
and others but no consistent understanding of who is being talked about here.
c.
This could be the way John understood it based
on his historical position, could be that the 7th brings completeness,
or one of a number of possibilities.
d.
The antichrist is headed to destruction.
e.
He will be the eighth king but part of the seven,
not very clear.
f.
What I believe John is telling us is that the
eighth king will come from the seven.
g.
He will rise up out of the seven and take his
place as the final earthly ruler.
12. Revelation
17:12
a.
The ten kings have power for just a short time.
13. Revelation
17:13
a.
The ten kings exist for a single purpose, which
is to give their authority to the antichrist.
14. Revelation
17:14
a.
The antichrist, the ten kings, those that follow
them will wage war against Jesus.
b.
We know the outcome; The Lord of lords and King
of kings will be triumphant over all!
15. Revelation
17:15
a.
If the prostitute is sitting on ‘many waters’,
it is sitting with peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
i. Fits
with Babylon being a corrupt religion more than it being a single city.
ii. If
you combine the city on seven hills and this, you can see why some point to
Rome and the Catholic church being Babylon.
16. Revelation
17:16-18
a.
Some debate on if this is the middle of the
tribulation or the end.
b.
But, if Babylon is destroyed by God during the
Seventh Bowl it cannot be a mid-Tribulation event. It is part of the wrath.
c.
What we see here is that God is in control. He
uses the antichrist and the ten kings to carry out His will.
d.
Whether he is turning on a wayward church, a
wild city, those who are following him, or those who are living ‘freely.’
e.
Either way the antichrist turns on them.
f.
Here is the important part – Revelation 17:17
i. God’s
will, will be done when the antichrist turns on other evil people.
17. Even
as we look at this wickedness that will be about the earth, we see that Our God
is in control.
18. His
will, will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!
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