One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” (Revelation 17:1-2, NIV 1984).
My Musings – Revelation 17 is a postlude to the bowls of wrath, which expands upon Babylon the Great (elsewhere referred to as the woman, the harlot, or the prostitute), her relationship with the beast, and her judgment. The message is delivered by one of the seven angels from the bowl judgments. Exactly which one of the angels is not specified, although the judgment upon the “woman” (Babylon) appears to be indicated by the sixth bowl of judgment when the Euphrates is dried up.
The woman is called a harlot or prostitute four times in Revelation 17, and her sin is referred to as fornication. Her evil influence has extended to the entire world, reaching even as high as “the kings of the earth.” While the Old Testament usually reserved the designation harlot or prostitute for God’s faithless people (e.g., Leviticus 17:7; Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 3:1–14; Ezekiel 16, 23; Hosea 4:15), it was also used to refer to mighty mercantile or military centers. For example, Isaiah 26:16–18 portrayed Tyre as a harlot who served all the kingdoms of the world. Nineveh as the capital of a world empire also was called a harlot and sorceress (Nahum 3:4).
My Advice – In addition to the woman and the beast, the other main characters in this chapter include the kings and other inhabitants of the earth. Respectively, they “committed adultery ” with her, and “were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” This has occurred throughout history and will intensify as the end draws near such “that every inclination of the thoughts of [the] heart [is] only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5, NIV 1984).
We know this to be true because Jesus said, “as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37, NIV 1984). Yet people will go about their daily lives as if the end was nowhere near, “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day [of the coming of the Son of Man]; [as if they knew] nothing about what would happen until [He] came [to judge the inhabitants of the earth]. (Matthew 24:38-39, NIV 1984).
How will you be judged? Don’t assume that all will work out because your life has been better than most. That God’s judgment is reserved only for those who were “[mostly] evil [most of] the time.” Better than most does not meet the standards of a Holy and Righteous God. If it did, Christ died for no good reason.
The truth is, even those whose were “only evil all the time” can find forgiveness and redemption by coming to Christ. But those who lived a life that was better than most (or even lacked just “one thing.” like the rich young ruler) will go away sad if they reject the sacrifice that Christ made. Did I say sad? There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Resources:
Cabal, T., Brand, C. O., Clendenen, E. R., Copan, P., Moreland, J. P., & Powell, D. (2007). The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (p. 1908). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Moore, E., Craven, E. R., & Woods, J. H. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Revelation (p. 312). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 612). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Re 17:1–5). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
The Brew Is A Musing 